The Supreme Court in the case TN Godavarman Thirumalpad versus Union of India observed and has clarified while commenting about the practical difficulties in having a uniform mandate of 1 kilometer Eco Sensitive Zone for all protected forests across the country, the Top Court on Wednesday orally remarked that the ground realities have also to be taken into account.
The bench comprising of Justice BR Gavai and Justice Vikram Nath observed and has passed an order taking note of an earlier order passed on September 23 which has exempted Sanjay Gandhi National Park and the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary from the 1-KM ESZ rule.
In the present case, a 3-judge bench of the Supreme Court on 03.06.2022, had observed and has directed that each protected forest should have an Eco Sensitive Zone (ESZ) of 1 kilometre. In the said order, it has also been stated by the bench that a uniform ESZ rule may not be feasible in all cases and there could be specific instances of sanctuaries which is being situated near metro regions where urban activities have come up over the years. The examples are been cited by the bench like Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Guindy National Park in Mumbai and Chennai respectively.
The counsel, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi while seeking exemption for Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary in the June 3, 2022 order as well as the September 23, 2022 orders relied on the said observations which exempted Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary. Further, it has been requested by him for passing similar order to be passed in the case of Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary as well.
The bench observed that in the case Sanjay Gandhi National Park and the Thane Flamingo Creek, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change had issued a notification dated on 15.12.2016 and 14.10.2021 respectively, setting out ESZ. The bench noted in its September 23 order that these notifications were not being brought to the notice of the Court before the passing of the June 3 order. On 11.09.2019, in the case of Tungareshwar, the final notification has been issued by the Ministry.
Accordingly, the bench observed while allowing the present application in respect of Tungareshwar that the September 23 order had held that wherever specific notifications in respect of particular national parks or the sanctuaries have been issued after following prescribed procedure of law, they will be prevailed.