The Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the Supreme Court has held former Uttarakhand Forest Minister Harak Singh Rawat responsible for illegal construction activities inside the Corbett Tiger Reserve. Along with this, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has been blamed for "serious lapses".

In a report submitted to the Supreme Court, the committee has drawn conclusions on alleged illegal activities in tree felling and construction work in setting up a tiger safari facility to display captive tigers for tourists inside the Corbett Reserve.

The CEC report, while recommending appropriate action after hearing Harak Singh Rawat, said that the only inference that emerges from the sequence of events is that the then Forest Minister was the mastermind behind the entire affair.

In 2019, the NTCA revised its 2016 guideline to allow bringing tigers from zoos and other safaris into stock safaris inside tiger reserves. The CEC report said such practices were "bound to endanger" wild tigers as zoo animals often harbor deadly diseases. In the report, the CEC sought amendment or withdrawal of the NTCA guidelines, which allow tiger safaris to be located within the buffer and fringe areas of tiger reserves.

Other recommendations of the report include-

The Central Zoo Authority should stop approving zoos and safaris within tiger reserves, wildlife sanctuaries, national parks and animal corridors and dispersal routes.

The Environment Ministry should amend its guidelines to discourage the use of wildlife habitat for wildlife tourism activities that are non-site specific, such as zoos.

The Uttarakhand government should demolish all the constructions done for tiger safari inside the Corbett Reserve except the essential minimum facilities.