Bandipur night ban to stay; forests belong to animals, says SC

January 30, 2015 06:00 pm | Updated November 18, 2016 01:18 am IST - NEW DELHI:

A tiger at Bandipur Tiger Reserve. The Tiger census results in the reserve are expected in February next year. Photo: M.A. Sriram

A tiger at Bandipur Tiger Reserve. The Tiger census results in the reserve are expected in February next year. Photo: M.A. Sriram

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to lift the night ban on vehicles plying through Bandipur Tiger Reserve, linking parts of Kerala.

A three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu orally observed that forests primarily belonged to animals and tribes who resided in them and not to men who carve roads through it.

Evoking its 2013 ban on tourists taking the Andaman Nicobar Trunk Road that passed through Jarawa tribe habitats, the apex court said it could not be seen to be taking a contradictory stand now.

In the Jarawa case, the court had stopped commercial and tourism activities within a five-km radius of the tribal reserve in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The hearing came on an application by the Kerala Government seeking a direction from the court to allow vehicles to move in a convoy through the reserve forest thrice during night time.

The State had pleaded that the ban, operative from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m, caused great suffering for passengers travelling by road between Karnataka and Kerala, as they had to wait at the borders the whole night.

The ban was imposed in June 2009 by the District Collector of Chamaraj Nagar as a protective measure to prevent road kills of rare wildlife. Though the Karnataka Government withdrew the order, the State High Court had stayed the decision in a public interest litigation filed by a lawyer, L. Srinivasa Rao.

Sambar deer in the Bandipur Tiger Reserve. Photo: AJT Johnsingh

Senior advocate Gopal Subramanium, for Kerala, produced an RTI reply which showed that only 14 wild animals have died between 2000 and 2012. He contested claims that a large number of animals had been killed in road accidents due to night-time traffic through the forest.

But the Chief Justice countered, saying “I know that one tiger was also killed. Forests belong to animals. You carve a road inside that.”

Elephants graze in the Bandipur Tiger Reserve. Photo: AJT Johnsingh

Mr. Subramanium then informed that there were proposals for alternative routes. They are the Mysore-Hunsur-Gonikoppa-Kutta-Kalpetta, Mysore-Bavali-Manathavady and Virajpet-Kannur as well the one via Bylukuppe bridge to Wayanad district from Mysore.

Kerala government had also decided to approach the Union Railway and Environment Ministries to clear a proposal on Nanjanagud-Nilambur rail line via Sultan Batheri.

The court adjourned the case by eight weeks after Mr. Subramanium sought more time on behalf of the State to consult Karnataka authorities on these proposals. 

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