New Delhi, Sep 25 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a plea filed by the Goa government and others challenging the Bombay High Court order to the state to notify Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary and its surrounding areas as a tiger reserve within three months.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra sought responses from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and others on the petition.
Spread over 208 sq km, Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the northeastern part of the state adjoining Karnataka.
In its 94-page verdict, a division bench of the high court quoted a Sanskrit verse from Mahabharata, emphasising the importance of tiger conservation.
The high court had delivered the judgement on a plea filed by NGO Goa Foundation which sought direction to the state government to notify tiger reserves of the state as requested by the NTCA.
Quoting “Mahabharata”, the high court bench had said in the verdict, “If there is no forest, then the tiger gets killed; if there is no tiger, then the forest gets destroyed. Hence, the tiger protects the forest and the forest guards the tiger!” The high court had directed the state government to take necessary steps to prepare a tiger conservation plan as contemplated by the Wildlife Protection Act, and to forward the same to the NTCA within three months from notifying Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary and other areas as a tiger reserve.
“We direct the NTCA to render full assistance to the state government for completing the above process and after that to expeditiously process the state government’s tiger conservation plan and take a decision thereon within three months of receiving the tiger conservation plan from the state government,” it had said.
The high court had directed the state government to set up anti-poaching camps at strategic locations with forest guards, watchers, etc., in the wildlife sanctuary and national parks in the state. This exercise must be completed within six months, it had added.
The high court also asked the state government and the forest department to take steps to ensure there are no encroachments in the protected forest areas such as wildlife sanctuaries and national parks pending notification of the tiger reserve and even after that. PTI ABA ABA SK SK
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