'Disappointed' with ban on filming in tiger reserves: BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation today said it was "disappointed" with the Centre's reaction on a "balanced" report covering the successes and challenges of India's rhino conservation policies.
The Centre had yesterday said that a BBC documentary on Kaziranga National Park "misrepresented" the immunity provided to forest staff as a "shoot-to-kill" policy. It also has been banned from filming in tiger reserves for five years.
"The authorities' reaction to a report on an important global issue like the appropriate way to combat poaching is extremely disappointing.
"The programme was a balanced and impartial report which covered both the successes achieved through India's conservation policies and the challenges, which includes the impact on communities living next to the parks," a BBC spokesperson said in a statement.

The Corporation, the spokesperson said, had approached the relevant government authorities to ensure their position was fully reflected but "they declined to take part".
Union Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave had yesterday said in Lok Sabha that there were several "inconsistencies" between the synopsis provided by the BBC producer and the final documentary released for airing.

"The government is aware of a documentary released by the BBC in which they misrepresented the immunity provided to forest personnel under section 197 of CrPC as 'shoot-to-kill' policy.
"The BBC has been disallowed from filming in tiger reserves for a period of five years. The permission granted before making the film included the condition for preview before its release. However, the documentary was not submitted to the authorities for a preview," Dave had said.

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) had recently asked the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to bar the BBC from filming in protected areas for five years, claiming a documentary produced by it "distorted" the government's anti-poaching strategy.
It had also sought revocation of visas of the journalist, who produced the documentary and other crew members for an identical period. The South Asia Bureau of the BBC had made the documentary - "Killing For Conservation".
The NTCA had earlier suggested "blacklisting" the BBC producer for "grossly erroneous" reporting, while issuing a show cause notice asking the broadcaster as to why permissions granted to it should not be revoked after the documentary termed the government's anti-poaching policy at Kaziranga as one of "shoot-to-kill".

NTCA, which functions under the Environment Ministry, in a memorandum earlier had said that producer Justin Rowlatt and others committed a "breach of trust" by submitting "false and misleading synopsis" to obtain filming permissions and producing a documentary which shows India's conservation efforts in "poor light".
Dave had recently said the Assam government had taken a series of steps to curb poaching at the Kaziranga National Park, including empowering the forest staff to use firearms without prior sanction while providing them immunity from prosecution.