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Synopsis

A division bench of the Bombay High Court at Goa comprising Justice MS Sonak and Justice Bharat Deshpande on Monday directed the Goa government to declare MHADEI Wildlife Sanctuary as a tiger reserve within 3 months. 

The division bench of Bombay High Court Goa Bench commenced its 90-Page Judgment with Sanskrit Shlok,

निर्वनो वध्यते व्याघ्रो निर्व्याघ्र छिद्यते वनम् । तस्माद्व्याघ्रो वनं रक्षेद्वयं व्याघ्रं च पालयेत् ॥ महाभारत उद्योग पर्व: ५.२९.५७

If there is no forest, then the tiger gets killed; if there is no tiger, then the forest gets destroyed. Hence, the tiger protects the forest and the forest guards the tiger!

-Mahabharat (Kumbhaghonam Edition) - Udyoga Parva: 5.29.57

The high court was hearing a plea seeking directions to the respondents to notify Mhadei Wild Life Sanctuary and other areas as a “tiger reserve” under Chapter IV-B of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 (WLPA). 

In 2011, the Central Government and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) made multiple requests to the State of Goa to notify Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS) and certain other adjacent areas as a tiger reserve. However, despite these appeals, the state government did not take any action.

In January 2020, after a tragic incident where a tigress and her three cubs died due to poisoning in the Mhadei WLS, the petitioner and other environmentalists brought this matter to the forefront. Despite their efforts, the state government remained inactive.

Consequently, the petitioner, Goa Foundation, approached the high court to address this issue and seek necessary action regarding the designation of the Mhadei WLS and its contiguous areas as a tiger reserve.

Advocate Norman Alvares, representing the petitioners, strongly argued that the State's disregard for the Union Environment Minister's letter dated 28.06.2011 regarding the notification of Mhadei WLS and other contiguous areas as a tiger reserve was unjustifiable. She emphasized that the repeated recommendations made by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), starting from the communication dated 31.03.2016, were legally binding on the State Government under Section 38-V (1) of the Wild Life Protection Act (WLPA).

Alvares further contended that the State Government had failed in its statutory duty by not notifying the tiger reserve, despite the NTCA's persistent recommendations. According to her, the provisions of Section 38-V (1) of the WLPA were mandatory, and the State had no authority to refuse or unreasonably delay the notification of a tiger reserve after receiving recommendations from the NTCA.

Advocate General D Pangam submitted that the state was not opposed to notifying the area as a tiger reserve. However, the time was not right to make such a declaration, issue such a notification, or even forward any proposal to the NTCA. He pointed out that the State had nowhere stated that it did not wish to send a proposal to the NTCA or to notify the area as a tiger reserve. Nonetheless, he pointed out that further studies were necessary, and the rights of the forest dwellers also needed to be settled entirely before such steps could be taken.

Pangam submitted that the communications relied upon by the petitioner were neither “directions” nor “recommendations” as contemplated under the WLPA. He submitted that the communications contained only “suggestions or advice.” He said that even otherwise, the provisions of Section 38-V (1) were only directory and not mandatory. 

The bench while agreeing with the arguments of the petitioner observed that "Therefore, based upon provisions of the Constitution of India and the WLPA, we cannot allow the tiger, which is a national animal, to fall into a death trap. On the conspectus of material on record, the legal and constitutional scheme and repeated recommendations of the NTCA, a mandamus is liable to be issued to the State of Goa to notify the Mhadei WLS and other areas referred by the NTCA as a tiger reserve in compliance with the mandate of Section 38-V(1) of the WLPA," 

The division bench also directed the government to set up anti-poaching camps at strategic locations to be staffed by forest guards, watchers, etc., in the WLS and National Parks in the State of Goa within 6 months.

The high court in its order observed that the presence of tigers in the forest is an indicator of the well-being of the ecosystem.

"The tiger is a unique animal which plays a pivotal role in the health and diversity of an ecosystem. It is a top predator at the apex of the food chain. Therefore, the presence of tigers in the forest is an indicator of the well-being of the ecosystem. Protection of tigers in forests protects the habitats of several other species. Indirect benefits of preserving a tiger include several ecosystem services like protection of rivers and other water sources, prevention of soil erosion and improvement of ecological services like pollination, water table retention etc. Conversely, the absence of this top predator indicates that its ecosystem is not sufficiently protected," the bench observed.

Further, the high court asked the state government to take emergent steps to ensure that there are no encroachments in the protected forest areas like WLS and National Parks pending notification of the tiger reserve, and even after that.

Lastly, the bench directed the State Government to determine and settle the rights and claims of the Scheduled Tribes and other forest dwellers following the law as expeditiously as possible and preferably within 12 months. 

Case title: The Goa Foundation vs State of Goa & Ors.