The Supreme Court on Monday reserved its verdict on issues surrounding the notification of areas under the Saranda Wildlife Sanctuary (SWL) and Sasangdaburu Conservation Reserve (SCR) in Jharkhand.
A Bench of Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran reserved judgment after hearing amicus curiae K. Parmeswar, senior advocate Kapil Sibal for the Jharkhand government, and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL).
The amicus curiae flagged the delay in declaring the area as a conservation reserve and alleged that the notified zone was being reduced from 31,468.25 hectares to about 24,000 hectares to favour private mining interests.
Kapil Sibal refuted this, asserting that 38 percent of Jharkhand’s area is forest land and the state remains committed to conservation.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing SAIL, urged the court to permit continued mining operations near the proposed sanctuary in the national interest. He submitted that SAIL supplies steel for crucial national projects, including India’s space missions, and that its main source of iron ore lies adjacent to the Saranda region.
The matter concerns a long-pending proposal to notify Saranda and Sasangdaburu forest areas in West Singhbhum district. Earlier, the Jharkhand government informed the court that it had expanded the proposed sanctuary from 31,468.25 ha to 57,519.41 ha, with an additional 13,603.806 ha earmarked for the Sasangdaburu Conservation Reserve.
However, on September 17, the Bench had rebuked the state for “totally unfair conduct” and “dilly-dallying tactics” in implementing the declaration, summoning Chief Secretary Avinash Kumar to explain the delay.
When Sibal later sought a week’s time, CJI Gavai warned: “Either you do it or we will do it by issuing a writ of mandamus. We are not interested in sending anybody to jail.”
The Supreme Court has meanwhile allowed SAIL and other entities to continue mining only from existing or previously-leased mines, directing that no fresh leases be granted in the proposed sanctuary area.
The Bench has asked all parties to file written submissions by Friday, after which the judgment will be pronounced.
The Wild Life (Protection) Act empowers state governments to declare and manage conservation reserves, a measure at the core of this dispute over one of India’s most ecologically rich forest belts.
