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Informist, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024

 

NEW DELHI – While hearing an application seeking protection of sacred groves, known as 'orans' in Rajasthan, the Supreme Court Wednesday recommended that the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change should create a comprehensive policy for the governance and management of sacred groves across the country. The ministry must develop a plan for a nationwide survey of sacred groves, the court said. The application had been filed by Aman Singh, founder of an Alwar-based nonprofit.

 

This survey should identify the area, location, and extent of the sacred groves, and clearly mark their boundaries. These boundaries should remain flexible to accommodate the natural growth and expansion of these forests while ensuring strict protection against any reduction in size due to agricultural activities, human habitation, deforestation, or other causes, the court added.

 

A bench of Justices B.R. Gavai, S.V.N. Bhatti and Sandeep Mehta suggested the government grant protection to sacred groves under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, specifically through Section 36-C, which allows for the declaration of "community reserves". This would legally protect these areas, recognising their role in biodiversity conservation and cultural practices, the bench added.

 

Sacred groves are patches of forest or clusters of trees that hold deep cultural or spiritual significance for the local communities that protect and sustain them. The size of sacred groves ranges from very small plots of less than 1 hectare to larger tracts of land of several hundred hectares. 

 

The apex court noted that the Rajasthan government has initiated the process of identifying and notifying sacred groves as forests through district-wise notifications. While this development is commendable, it said, it was important to highlight the significant delay in commencing this critical process. The forest department of Rajasthan is directed to carry out detailed on-ground mapping and satellite mapping of each sacred grove, such as Orans, Dev-vans, Rundhs, or by any other name by which they are known in the respective area, said the court.

 

Further, the court appreciated the Piplantri model prevalent in Rajasthan's Rajsamand district. It started after the death of a girl child of one Shyam Sundar Paliwal, the Piplantri village sarpanch. The village had suffered from environmental damage due to excessive marble mining, which led to water shortages, deforestation, and economic decline. To counter this, the community led by its sarpanch introduced a practice of planting 111 trees for every girl born. Models like these demonstrate how community-driven initiatives can effectively address social, economic, and environmental challenges in a cohesive manner, said the court.

 

Active measures by the government are required to ensure that such ideas are implemented and replicated in other parts of the country as well to promote sustainable development and gender equality, said the court. The central and state governments should support these models by providing financial assistance, creating enabling policies, and offering technical guidance to communities, the court added.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

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