SC orders status quo in Mhadei-Kotigaon area, seeks experts’ report

THe sublime margaret court on mon called for a cover from the exchange Empowered Committee (CEC) - expert body assisting court on environment issues - on notifying the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary and adjoining areas in Goa as a tiger reserve and directed the state government to maintain status quo over the land in question.The order was passed by a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R Gavai on an urgent application moved by non-profit organisation Goa Foundation objecting to certain clearances by the state for commercial projects in the land for tiger reserve,which the state delayed to notify despite a July 2023 direction by the Goa bench of the Bombay high court.The application was filed in the Goa government’s appeal of 2023 challenging the HC judgment on the ground that the area to be notified as tiger reserve — measuring up to 745.18 square kilometres, will take away significant stretch of land that will impact forest dwellers and related activities in the buffer zone of the reserve. The HC order required the state to notify the reserve within three months, a decision that has not been stayed till date by the top court.Faced with opposing stands by the state and the Goa Foundation, the bench, also comprising justices K Vinod Chandran and AS Chandurkar said, “We find it will be appropriate for CEC to examine this issue and submit a report to this court.”In the meantime, the court held, “The petitioner state is directed to maintain status quo so far as the area directed to be notified as tiger reserve by the high court is concerned.” The court requested the CEC to submit its report in six weeks after hearing all concerned parties, including the state government. The matter has been posted after eight weeks to enable the state and Goa Foundation to respond to the CEC report.Advocate Norma Alvares who appeared for Goa Foundation pointed out that in the garb of the appeal pending in the top court, the state was handing out permissions for eco tourism projects in the land which falls within the area to be notified as tiger reserve. She relied on the recommendations by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) which proposed the notification of the tiger reserve for protection of tigers not only in Goa but for tigers using this corridor along the northern Western Ghats. The NTCA recommendation covered the entire stretch from Mhadei sanctuary all along the Bhagwan Mahaveer National Park and Netravali wildlife sanctuary.The state represented by senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi said that the high court order directing notification of the tiger reserve will take away 20% of the land in Goa. He said, “People staying along this place will fall in the buffer zone and will have to be moved out. It will swallow 20% of the state. Can you have 20% of the state being declared as tiger reserve. Goa has a unique problem being a small state. If this is implemented, tigers will be roaming everywhere in Goa.”Alvares opposed the state by pointing out that as per the top court’s judgment on eco-sensitive zone around tiger reserves, only those human settlements in the core area of the reserve have to be shifted out and not those in the buffer zone. She stated that the NTCA while earmarking this area for the reserve, had excluded human habitations and had decided in the best interest of the tigers.The bench remarked, “Tigers don’t understand boundaries. Our order of status quo is to ensure there is no further development until further orders.”The high court order had directed the state to issue notification declaring the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary and adjoining areas as a tiger reserve under Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 within three months.The ruling which came on a petition by Goa Foundation had noted the death of a tigress and three cubs in Mhadei sanctuary in 2020 had said, “We cannot allow the tiger, which is a national animal, to fall into a death trap.”The state government in its appeal had questioned the HC judgment which said that NTCA recommendation shall be binding on the state. The HC held, “No absurd or inconvenient consequence would result from construing this provision as mandatory. Instead, a problematic consequence might ensue by construing this provision as directory because then it would be open to the state government to defy the recommendation of an expert, high-powered central body constituted by parliamentary legislation for the specific purpose of adequate protection of the tiger and tiger habitat in India.”The NTCA had given its recommendations for establishing a tiger reserve at Mhadei from time to time in 2011, 2016 and lastly in 2020. The NTCA report of 2020 had said: “The protected areas of Goa (Mhadei and Mollem) are part of the Western Ghats landscape complex which has the unique distinction of having the world’s largest tiger population. This landscape has several interconnected tiger reserves and protected areas along with reserve forests.”The NTCA said that by declaring a tiger reserve, a strong protection regime can be put in place for saving tigers. It had even filed its response in the top court defending its recommendation.