The Centre has urged the Supreme Court to allow regulated, low-impact tourist activities in up to 20 percent of the core/critical tiger habitat in the country as part of the exercise to promote tourism.

In the fresh guidelines formulated for states following the apex court's interim ban imposed on July 24 on all tourist activities in the core areas of tiger reserves, the government also said that to protect the tiger population, no new tourism infrastructure should be created.

A bench of justices A K Patnaik and Swatanter Kumar allowed the Centre to place the guidelines before it after counsel Haris Beran mentioned the matter.

According to the Centre, the aim of the guideline was to move towards a system of tourism around tiger reserves which is primarily community-based tourism.