Decision to be implemented within three months from today
State to determine and settle the rights and claims of the Scheduled Tribes and other forest dwellers following the law as expeditiously as possible and preferably within 12 months from today.
Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: Ten days after Goa’s state wildlife board rejected a proposal to set up a tiger reserve in the state, the High Court of Bombay at Goa on Monday directed Goa Government to notify Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary as Tiger Reserve within three months from today.
The HC directions came following a petition filed by the NGO Goa Foundation in 2020 after the killing of four wild cats in Mhadei that year.
The HC directions are “(i) We direct the State Government to notify the Mhadei
WLS and other areas referred to in NTCA’s
communications (and the plans prepared by the Goa
Forest Department Officials) as a tiger reserve under
Section 38-V (1) of the WLPA within three months
from today;
(ii) We direct the State Government to take all steps to
prepare a tiger conservation plan as contemplated by
Section 38-V (3) of the WLPA and to forward the same
to the NTCA within three months of notifying the
Mhadei WLS and other areas as a tiger reserve;
(iii) 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;
(iv) We direct the State Government to set up antipoaching
camps at strategic locations to be staffed by
forest guards, watchers, etc., in the WLS and National
Parks in the State of Goa. This exercise must be
completed within six months;
(v) We direct the State Government and the Forest
Department authorities to take emergent steps to ensure
that there are no encroachments in the protected forest
areas like WLS and National Parks pending notification
of the tiger reserve, and even after that;
(vi) We direct the State Government to determine and
settle the rights and claims of the Scheduled Tribes and
other forest dwellers following the law as expeditiously as possible and preferably within 12 months from today.
160. The rule is made absolute in the above terms without any cost order”.
Earlier last week, the Goa Wildlife Board has contended that “the declaration of a tiger reserve at the current stage would be premature” as it does not fit the requisite criteria and guidelines of the Wildlife (Protection) Act and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
The first reaction came from Forest Minister Vishwajit Rane, who said Govt will challenge the verdict.
“I am waiting for detailed order. We stand with our decision. The government will definitely challenge this order,” he said in a media reaction..
Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant too had said that the state did not fit one of the criteria and hence the decision had been taken.
The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Sawant and attended by Forest Minister Vishwajit Rane, Goa Forest Development Corporation Chairman Deviya Rane and other officials recently.
The demand is following the Central Water Commission’s approval of the Karnataka government’s detailed project report for the construction of dams on the Mhadei river, even as the two states, Goa and Karnataka, are in conflict over the sharing of the river waters.
In 2020, the NGO Goa Foundation approached the Bombay High Court at Goa for notification of a tiger reserve in the state. The petition, filed by the NGO, sought the court to direct the state to act on NTCA’s order to set up a tiger reserve in Goa. The petition still remains in court.
According to the Status of Tigers 2022 report by the NTCA, the tiger population in the Western Ghats, has shrunk to 824 unique tiger individuals, down from 981 in 2018. This decline is in contrast to the national level increase to 3080 tigers from 2461, during the same period. While tiger populations within protected areas have either remained stable or increased, tiger occupancy outside of these regions has significantly decreased, notes the report. The border areas of Goa and Karnataka are one region where tiger occupancy has decreased.
Box 1
High Court Order
State Government to notify Mhadei
WLS and other areas referred to in NTCA’s
communications as a tiger reserve under
Section 38-V (1) of the WLPA within three months
from today.
State Government to take all steps to
prepare a tiger conservation plan as contemplated by
Section 38-V (3) of the WLPA and to forward the same
to the NTCA within three months from notifying the
Mhadei WLS and other areas as a tiger reserve;
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;
State Government to set up antipoaching
camps at strategic locations to be staffed by
forest guards, watchers, etc., in the WLS and National
Parks in the State of Goa. This exercise must be
completed within six months;
State Government and the Forest
Department authorities to take emergent steps to ensure
that there are no encroachments in the protected forest
areas like WLS and National Parks pending notification
of the tiger reserve, and even after that;
We direct the State Government to determine and
settle the rights and claims of the Scheduled Tribes and
other forest dwellers following the law as expeditiously as possible and preferably within 12 months from today.
160. The rule is made absolute in the above terms without any cost order”.
Box
Reactions….
I am waiting for detailed order. We stand with our decision. The government will definitely challenge this order,
Vishwajit Rane
Forest Minister
The verdict of the Hon’ble High Court directing Government to notify Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary as Tiger Reserve has come as a major relief for Goans in their efforts to Save Mhadei. I humbly appeal to the habitants to accept this verdit in the larger interest of Goa. #MhadeiJagor
Yuri Alemao
Leader of Opposition
The Tiger Reserve was long overdue. The verdict will also protect our Mother Mhadei from being diverted by Karnataka.
Carlos Alvares Fereira
Congress MLA
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