Non-notification of conservative reserve: SC seeks personal appearance of Jharkahand official

New Delhi, Sep 17 (PTI) Irked over non-compliance of its orders, the Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the chief secretary of Jharkhand to personally appear before it on October 8 to show cause as to why the state government has not notified Saranda Wildlife Sanctuary (SWL) and the Sasangdaburu Conservation Reserve (SCR) as a conservation reserve.

"The Jharkhand government is in clear contempt of our order dated April 29, 2025... we therefore direct the chief secretary of Jharkhand to remain present in this court at 10.30 am on October 8 and show cause as to why contempt proceedings be not initiated," a bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran ordered.

The Wild Life (Protection) Act provides for the declaration and management of a conservation reserve.

It says: "The state government may, after having consultations with the local communities, declare any area owned by the government, particularly the areas adjacent to national parks and sanctuaries and those areas which link one protected area with another, as a conservation reserve for protecting landscapes, seascapes, flora and fauna and their habitat." The bench was critical of the fact that the state government, instead of complying with its earlier orders and notifying SWL and SCR as a conservation reserve, set up a committee headed by its official on May 13 to further deliberate on the issue.

Cautioning against the non-compliance, the CJI, in a lighter vein, said, "The other day, the president (Droupadi Murmu) was telling me that Jharkhand has very good jails." The bench asked the state government to do the needful within two months, else it may send the concerned officials to jail for six months.

A court of records, high courts and the Supreme Court can award a maximum six months' jail term to a person guilty of contempt.

The bench was hearing a matter arising out of the state's non-compliance with earlier directions issued by the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

On April 29, the bench had pulled up the Jharkhand government for delaying the process of notifying the SWL and SCR as a conservation reserve.

It noted that despite the principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife-cum-chief wildlife warden) submitting a proposal as far back as November 29, 2024, the Department of Forest, Environment and Climate Change had sent it back in March 2025 for further comments, effectively stalling the process.

Expressing disapproval, it had observed that the government appeared to be "unnecessarily delaying the matter by sending files from one authority to another." Abu Bakr Siddiqui, secretary of the Department of Forest, Environment and Climate Change, had personally appeared before the court and tendered an unconditional apology.

It had accepted his apology and dispensed with his further personal appearances.

The state government informed the bench that it has now expanded the proposed sanctuary area from the earlier 31,468.25 hectares to 57,519.41 hectares, and earmarked an additional 13,603.806 hectares (136.038 sq. km.) to be notified as the Sasangdaburu Conservation Reserve.

The bench noted that the proposal has already been sent to the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, for expert comments.

Taking note of this, the bench directed the WII to examine the proposal and submit its feedback to the state government within one month.

It instructed the state government to complete all remaining formalities, including consideration by the State Wildlife Board (SWB), approval by the state Cabinet, and issuance of the final notification — within two months of receiving the WII’s comments.

The Saranda forest, located in West Singhbhum district, is one of India's most ecologically significant regions, known for its rich biodiversity, elephant corridors, and iron ore deposits. PTI SJK RHL