Porvorim: Goa Bench of Bombay High Court on Monday directed Goa government to notify the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary and surrounding areas as a tiger reserve within three months.
The division bench comprising of Justice M S Sonak and Justice Bharat Deshpande in its 90-odd pages order has quoted a Sanskrit verse from Mahabharat emphasizing the importance of tiger conservation.
Goa Foundation, a local NGO, had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) before the Court asking for writ of mandamus to the Goa government to notify Tiger Reserves for Goa as requested by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
The court has also directed State Government to take all steps to prepare a tiger conservation plan as contemplated by Wildlife Protection Act and to forward the same to the NTCA within three months from notifying the 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,” the order reads.
The Bench also ordered the State Government to set up antipoaching camps at strategic locations to be staffed by forest guards, watchers, etc., in the wildlife sanctuary and National Parks in the State of Goa. “This exercise must be
completed within six months,” the court added.
The court has also directed 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.
The Bench has also directedthe 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.
