3 months ago
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The High Court of Karnataka has directed the State authorities to contented a further notification to see the left-out areas of the Kappatagudda reserve wood arsenic portion of the Kappatagudda Wildlife Sanctuary successful Gadag district, arsenic per the solution passed astatine the 11th gathering of the Karnataka State Wildlife Board (KSWB) successful January 2019.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M. Poonacha issued the absorption aft noticing that lone 244.15 sq. km country was declared arsenic a wildlife sanctuary successful the May 16, 2019, notification, adjacent though the KSWB had connected January 9, 2019, unanimously resolved to state the full 300 sq. km of Kappatagudda reserve wood arsenic wildlife sanctuary.
Petition dismissed
The Bench issued the directions portion dismissing petitions filed by Shivaganga Stone Crushing Industries and different operators of stone-crushing units connected patta lands successful the contiguous vicinity of the 4th artifact of the Kappatagudda reserved forest, challenging the May 16, 2019, notification.
The petitioners had contended that their concern was affected owed to the declaration of 244.15 sq. km of areas arsenic a sanctuary, arsenic their onshore comes nether the eco-sensitive portion astir the Kappatagudda Wildlife Sanctuary. They had sought a absorption from the authorities to confine the bound of the Kappatagudda Wildlife Sanctuary to lone 178 sq. km, arsenic was initially projected successful 2017. The petitioners had claimed an summation successful the sanctuary country beyond 178 sq. km was without the support of the National Board of Wildlife.
‘To payment few’
As the Bench recovered the anomaly successful the country of the sanctuary, arsenic was approved by the Board and the notification connected declaration of sanctuary, the petitioners had claimed that the reduced country was declared arsenic a sanctuary to payment a fewer units, which are owned by influential persons.
In effect to the court’s query connected wherefore the country was reduced, the authorities counsel had told the Bench that nary papers is disposable regarding immoderate determination to trim the country of the sanctuary, portion pointing retired that determination was an mistake successful signaling the country of Kappatagudda reserve wood arsenic 300 sq. km erstwhile existent country is 288 sq. km.
Reducing the country of the sanctuary is ex facie arbitrary arsenic it was contrary to the determination of the Board gathering chaired by the Chief Minister, and acted upon by the State government, the Bench said portion directing the authorities to contented a notification to adhd the left-out country of 55 sq. km to the sanctuary.
Govt.’s presumption connected exclusion
However, the Bench clarified that if the authorities is of the presumption that it is indispensable oregon expedient to exclude a portion of the country from the boundaries of the sanctuary, past this bid would not preclude the authorities to instrumentality a determination connected altering the boundaries of the sanctuary (which includes the left-out portions of the reserve forest), successful accordance with the law.
