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SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
S.A. BOBDE, CJI., S.ABDUL NAZEER, SANJIV KHANNA, JJ.
HOSPITALITY ASSOCIATION OF MUDUMALAI - APPELLANTS
VERSUS
IN DEFENCE OF ENVIRONMENT AND ANIMALS AND ORS. ETC. - RESPONDENTS
Civil Appeal Nos.3437-3440, 3442-3472, 3474-3477 OF 2020 (Arising out of S.L.P. (C) Nos.17313-17314 of 2011) SLP (C) Nos.20154, 21460, 21463-21464, 21461, 16668, 17160, 17155-17156, 17150-17151, 21480, 21467, 21472, 21477, 21478, 21470, 21468, 21469, 24826, 19112, 25010, 31581, 30535, 30536 of 2011, SLP (C) No. 9305 of 2012, SLP (C) No(s).12388 of 2020 (arising out of SLP(C)….CC No. 5278 of 2012), SLP (C) No(s).12389 of 2020 (arising out of SLP (C)…CC No. 5312 of 2012), SLP (C) No. 5176, 2666, 7619, 21390-21391 of 2012 (arising out of SLP(C)….CC No.5161 of 2012) Civil Appeal No.3473 of 2020 SLP (C) No. 37332, 35559, 35644 of 2013, SLP (C) No(s).12393 of 2020 (arising out of SLP(C)….Diary No. 16319 of 2017), SLP (C) No(s).12392 of 2020 (arising out of SLP(C)…. CC No.9201 of 2012)
Decided on : 14-10-2020
Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 – Section 4 – Constitution of India – Articles 21, 47, 48A and 51A(g) – Wildlife Protection – Notification of ‘Elephant Corridor’ in Sigur Plateau of Nilgiris District – Issue of resorts/guest houses in Nilgiris forest area – Ever-growing need for land, infrastructure and energy requirements of our large population have slowly fragmented elephant’s natural spaces which are now surrounded by human habitation, agriculture, mining, roads and railways – In most areas, existing corridors are repeatedly being destroyed which will block migration routes of elephants and would result in fragmentation of habitats as well as increased human-elephant conflict – Elephant corridors allow elephants to continue their nomadic mode of survival, despite shrinking forest cover, by facilitating travel between distinct forest habitats. Corridors are narrow and linear patches of forest which establish and facilitate connectivity across habitats – Legal intervention in preservation of these corridors has been necessitated because wildlife corridors are threatened by various social, economic and anthropogenic factors – Commercial activities such as running of private resorts and construction of new buildings with barbed and electric fences within elephant corridors pose a serious threat of fragmentation and destruction of habitats – Long-term survival of species depends on maintaining viable habitats and connecting corridors which maintain variance in species’ gene pool and avoid other risks associated with habitat fragmentation and isolation of species – It is duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve natural environment including forests and wild life and to have compassion for living creatures – In order to protect elephant population in Sigur Plateau region, it was necessary and appropriate for State Government to limit commercial activity in areas falling within elephant corridor – No reason to interfere with factual findings of High Court and also no fault in State Government’s adoption of recommendations of High Court-appointed Expert Committee, through impugned G.O. – 3-member Inquiry Committee appointed – Inquiry Committee is directed to consider objections filed before it and pass appropriate orders thereon after granting parties a reasonable opportunity of being heard. (Paras 6, 34, 35, 40, 41 and 44)
Facts of the case:
Appellants in these appeals have assailed the final judgment and order dated 07.04.2011 of the High Court of Judicature at Madras, passed in Writ Petition (PIL) No. 10098 of 2008 along with several other writ petitions including Review Application No. 131 of 2010 and Writ Petition No. 23939 of 2010 filed by the Hospitality Association of Mudumalai. The High Court by the impugned judgment has upheld the validity of the Tamil Nadu Government Notification G.O.(Ms.) No. 125, dated 31.08.2010 which had notified an ‘Elephant Corridor’ in the Sigur Plateau of Nilgiris District and has further directed resort owners and other private land owners to vacate and hand over the vacant possession of the lands falling within the notified elephant corridor to the District Collector, Nilgiris within three months from date of the judgment.
Findings of Court:
Elephant corridors allow elephants to continue their nomadic mode of survival, despite shrinking forest cover, by facilitating travel between distinct forest habitats. Corridors are narrow and linear patches of forest which establish and facilitate connectivity across habitats. In the context of today’s world, where habitat fragmentation has become increasingly common, these corridors play a crucial role in sustaining wildlife by reducing the impact of habitat isolations. In their absence, elephants would be unable to move freely, which would in turn affect many other animal species and the ecosystem balance of several wild habitats would be unalterably upset. It would also eventually lead to the local extinction of elephants, a species which is widely revered in our country and across the world.
Result : Appeals disposed of with directions.
JUDGMENT :
S. ABDUL NAZEER, J.
1. Leave granted.
2. The appellants in these appeals have assailed the final judgment and order dated 07.04.2011 of the High Court of Judicature at Madras, passed in Writ Petition (PIL) No. 10098 of 2008 along with several other writ petitions including Review Application No. 131 of 2010 and Writ Petition No. 23939 of 2010 filed by the Hospitality Association of Mudumalai. The High Court by the impugned judgment has upheld the validity of the Tamil Nadu Government Notification G.O.(Ms.) No. 125, dated 31.08.2010 which had notified an ‘Elephant Corridor’ in the Sigur Plateau of Nilgiris District and has further directed resort owners and other private land owners to vacate and hand over the vacant possession of the lands falling within the notified elephant corridor to the District Collector, Nilgiris within three months from the date of the judgment.
3. The appellant in Civil Appeal Nos.3438-3439 of 2020 (arising out of SLP (C) Nos.17313-17314 of 2011), is the Hospitality Association of Mudumalai, registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, 1975, situated in the Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu. The members of this association have established resorts/guest houses in the Nilgiris forest area. The other appellants are either the owners of the resorts/guest houses or the owners of the lands in and around the Nilgiris forest area. Some of them have built dwelling houses on their lands, some of them have encroached upon government lands and put up constructions thereon and some of them are cultivating the said lands.
4. Before referring to the proceedings before the High Court and this Court, as well as the submissions made by the learned counsel for the parties, it would be helpful to refer to the background facts and the prevailing ecological context in which the impugned G.O. was notified.
A. BACKGROUND
5. Despite being a figure of traditional cultural reverence, today the elephant species is severally threatened in India. The crux of the problem is one that affects all wildlife in the country: land. As India’s human population has grown exponentially in the past several decades, so has its demand for resources. At its essence, that demand boils down to the requirement for more land – for agriculture to grow more food and for construction of roads, dams, mines, railways and housing. This demand for land has led to the degradation and fragmentation of the country’s forest cover. The elephant, being a large agrarian animal, may weigh up to 4-5 tons and requires about 200-300 kgs. of fodder comprising of various plant species daily. It, therefore, needs large areas, which it uses by rotation, so that it may not overgraze an area and in the process destruct it altogether. This allows the natural vegetation of the habitats a chance to re-generate.
6. However, the ever-growing need for land, infrastructure and energy requirements of our large population have slowly fragmented the elephant’s natural spaces which are now surrounded by human habitation, agriculture, mining, roads and railways. The more forest habitat is fragmented, the farther an elephant herd has to roam in search of food and water. Increasingly, elephants have to move farther and farther afield, even from one forest area to another, often through small patches of forests called corridors. As forest lands continue to be lost, these relatively narrow and linear patches of vegetation form vital natural habitat linkages between larger forest patches. They allow elephants to move between secure habitats freely, without being disturbed by humans. Further, elephants are genetically programmed by nature to never inbreed within their birth family and thus need to move around between gene pools to reproduce. These corridors aid this process by helping different elephant populations to intermingle, which is essential for retaining the vi
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