Rajasthan High Court Halts Construction, Mining In Jawai To Protect Leopard Habitat; Asks State To Consider Declaring Area As Sanctuary

While hearing PIL claiming unregulated tourism and increased "unauthorized construction" in Jawai region causing ecological stress and disturbance to wildlife particularly Indian leopards, Rajasthan High Court has directed that no construction in the region will take place except with court's permission.In March the court had in an interim order prohibited safari activities beyond 6 am to 7 pm.The division bench of Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Justice Sandeep Shah has further directed to maintain the status quo regarding all commercial tourism establishments or any kind of constructions in the regions. Any further tourism license for hotels/resorts/guest houses etc. has been prohibited."This order which will be operate in the whole Jawai region which includes Villages of Kothar, Velar, Varaval, Lundara, Doodni, Choti Doodni, Rughnathpura, Mori, Mori Bera, Sena, Jeevda, Beesalpur, Balwana, Jawai Bandh Station, Perwa, and other area within the Jawai Leopard Conservation Reserve 1 & 2 which were formed by notification dated 27.02.2013 and 15.06.2018 respectively. Also included would be, all the caves in the area, hills, foot hills corridors in the Jawai region and District Pali which are part of leopards movement and leopards habitat.First of all, in the complete region no constriction shall take place without permission of this Court except for construction in the Abadi of the villages concerned, having the requisite permission. The status qua regarding all commercial tourism establishment or any kind of construction disturbing the leopards movement, or the leopards area, or the hills or the foot hills shall be maintained. No further tourism license shall be issued for any hotel/resort/guest house/home stays or activities of identical nature".Further the court directed:1. The land in questions wherein leopard habitat is there including their natural and spotting sites shall not be disturbed and even where the land use change has been permitted, no change in the status of the core areas of leopards habitate shall be permitted. Status qua as it exists today shall be maintained qua the entire area and the same shall be ensured by respondent authorities. 2. All mining activities in the concerned area shall remain stayed. 3. No further barbed wiring and compartmentalization shall be done for any of the land in question till further orders.4. The Jawai Safari & Eco-Tourism Coordination Committee proposed in the SOP in paragraph 2.4.2 shall start functioning straightaway to resolve the issues and finalizing the SOP and making more suggestions to the Court to protect the leopard habitat5. The plying of vehicles in the parcel of land earmarked for dam including its over flow area shall also remain stayed, to avoid any kind of damage relating to the wildlife and bird hatchings.6. The night safari shall remain closed, as already directed in the earlier order.In furtherance of the aforementioned, the State Government was instructed to consider the feasibility of declaring the concerned area as a sanctuary, for protecting and restoring the leopard-inhabiting eco-system."This Court also directs the State Government, including the department concerned, to consider the feasibility of invoking Sections 8 and 18 of the Act of 1972 for declaring the area in question as a sanctuary, for the purpose of ensuring that the leopard-inhabited region and its ecosystem are protected and restored. The Wildlife State Board shall hold the necessary proceedings in this regard, as expeditiously as possible"The Court took into account the affidavit filed by the AAG on behalf of the State that reflected the initiatives taken by the forest department in controlling illegal and unethical tourism activities in the region, as well as the challenges faced by them in regulating the eco-tourism in the area. The affidavit also mentioned that an SOP for management and regulation of Eco-tourism in the Jawai landscape was under process, and shall be implemented to ensure sustainable and sage tourism in the area. A draft SOP was also presented. On the contrary, the counsel for the petitioner submitted not a single step was undertaken by the authorities to rectify the deteriorating conditions that might result in complete extension of leopards in the area. After hearing the contentions, the Court observed that Jawai was a unique and ecologically sensitive landscape that represented a remarkable example of harmonious coexistence between humans and wildlife. While underscoring the expansive interpretation of Article 21 and mandate under Article 48A of the Constitution of India, the Court opined that, “Any degradation of such habitats, whether by unauthorized construction, unregulated commercial activity or otherwise, strikes at the heart of the constitutional mandate. The issue, therefore, clearly transcends the realm of ordinary statutory enforcement and enters the domain of enforceable constitutional obligation,...

Rajasthan High Court Halts Construction, Mining In Jawai To Protect Leopard Habitat; Asks State To Consider Declaring Area As Sanctuary

Nupur Agrawal

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Rajasthan High Court Halts Construction, Mining In Jawai To Protect Leopard Habitat; Asks State To Consider Declaring Area As Sanctuary

Nupur Agrawal

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