The 'Precautionary Principle' and the need for environmental protection to prevent irreversible damages to the eco-system and wildlife.

JUDGMENT :

B.N. Mahapatra, J. - The Petitioner, who claims to be a social activist and is engaged in taking up various grievances of the common people for securing redressal thereof, has filed this writ petition in the nature of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) with a prayer for issuance of a direction to opposite party-State authorities to take immediate steps to ban all construction activities within the radius of 1 km around the boundaries of Nandan Kanan Wild Life Sanctuary and to prepare a comprehensive plan to sustain the fragile eco-system of the area and not to change the nature and status of the land.

2. Petitioner's case in a nutshell is that the construction activities undertaken in the vicinity of Nandan Kanan Wild Life Sanctuary are putting severe strain on the eco-system. Nandan Kanan Zoological Park is a popular tourist place/destination, which was established on 29th December, 1960. Every year thousands of tourists from inside and outside India are coming to visit the Zoo. During 41 years of its existence, the Zoological Park has bred a number of species of animals and kids. The most notables amongst them are Ghadials and White Tigers. Still large patches of forest are existing inside the park where free living wild animals like spotted Deer, wild boar, Jackal, Mangoose, Snakes like Python are found. In the year 1979, keeping in view the diversity and fragility of the eco-system, two Demarcated Protected Forest (DPF) blocks; Krishna Nagar and Jajnagarh along with Kanjia Lake, a natural water body and some private lands and government waste lands over 437 hectares were notified as Nandan Kanan Sanctuary. The Sanctuary area is surrounded by wet land all around. The swamps and Kanjia lake inside the sanctuary area form a contiguous unit. Any change in the topography of the wet land is bound to affect the very existence of Kanjia Lake. The Kanjia Lake, which along with the Zoo and Botanical Garden, constitutes the sanctuary area, is the life line of the ecosystem. The animals in the Zoo primarily depend on the water of this lake. Urbanization in the close vicinity of the sanctuary area will pollute the swamps which in turn will pollute the lake beyond recovery.

3. Kanjia Lake and the surrounding swamps impound water from rain and natural springs. They are monsoon fed water bodies. The natural drainages pattern of the surrounding areas feed these water bodies during rainy season. Large scale construction in the vicinity of the water bodies may disturb the rain water drains which in turn may badly affect the water level as well as the water quality of these water bodies. It may also cause disturbance to aquifers which are the source of ground water. The hydrology of the area may be disturbed. Every year during rainy and winter seasons thousands of migratory birds flock to these marshy swamps which surround the sanctuary area. There has been a proposal to declare the entire wet lands along with the Kanjia Lake as a bird sanctuary. A notification for acquisition of the land has already been made. The Nandankanan Wild Life Sanctuary has been pursuing Wild Life conservation and captive breeding. It is the only place available in the State for capture, management, conservation and rehabilitation of population of the wild animals. Master Plan has been prepared to take care of all the requirements of multifarious activities of Zoological Park. It has been approved by the Central Zoo Authority. Any construction activity in the vicinity is bound to affect the master plan and will destroy the harmonious development of the sanctuary. The requisition for acquisition of the land, adjacent to the sanctuary for expansion of the sanctuary and for conservation of the wet lands is pending and now under process. The development of land by the builder groups if not restrained, it will defeat the very purpose of acquisition of land. It is alleged that since opposite party Nos. 1 to 9-State Authorities are not taking any action for protect