The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to issue notification specifying the Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary boundary within six months. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel noted that a status report has been filed on behalf of Uttar Pradesh to the effect that steps have been taken and proposal was pending consideration before the National Board for Wildlife.
“It is stated by the counsel for the State that delay has taken place due to pandemic and the Rationalisation Committee is now likely to complete its work within three months and thereafter the State Government will issue final notification within three months. We direct the Commissioner, Meerut to ensure that the rationalisation process is completed within three months and report submitted to the State Government and thereafter, the Additional Chief Secretary, Forest and Environment, UP, may ensure that further action is completed within next three months, the bench said.
The NGT made clear that in case of failure, it will be open to either party to move the tribunal after six months, seeking coercive measures against the erring officers. The counsel appearing for the State of UP submitted that after approval of the proposal by the Environment Ministry, a committee for rationalisation with the Commissioner, Meerut as Nodal Officer has been appointed on November 17, 2020.
The counsel for the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF) confirms that the proposal received from the State was duly approved in 59th meeting of the National Board for Wildlife. Protection of wildlife species in Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary is not possible unless it is kept free of human interference, NGT had said in 2019 and directed the central and the Uttar Pradesh governments to issue notification specifying the habitat’s boundary within six months.
Inordinate delay in the notification under Section 26 (A) of the Wildlife Protection Act is unacceptable and because of this reason a large number of industries are flourishing within the sanctuary adversely affecting various wildlife species, it had said. The tribunal was hearing a plea seeking execution of its 2019 order directing issuance of requisite notification under section 26A of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 for protection of the Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary.
The direction had come on a plea by advocate Gaurav Bansal alleging threat to wildlife especially to the swamp deer due to human intervention in the Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary and seeking protection and restitution of the biodiversity and ecosystem of the sanctuary. Bansal, in its petition had stated that recently the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has done a survey of the sanctuary which found that wildlife including swamp deer is fighting for its existence.
According to the plea, WII in its report has also stated that due to high human presence and forest fire, endangered species like swamp deer, hog deer and Gangetic grasslands were facing difficulties in survival. “The applicant has learnt from the red list of threatened species generated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural resources published on January 10, 2015 that the population of swamp deer (Barasingha) is assessed as vulnerable because the estimated total population lies between 3,500 and 5,100 animals and also its protection status is not secure.
“It is pertinent to mention here that the report generated revealed the important fact that the species of swamp deer is assumed to decline by at least 10 per cent over 24 years due to habitat conversion and degradation,” the plea had said. Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary is spread over an area of 2,073 sq km along the banks of Ganga in five forest divisions –Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Meerut, Hapur and Amroha.
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