The long, green arm of the law

The judiciary has mostly been at the forefront of forest protection and conservation in the country. In line with this tradition, a Special Bench of the Madras High Court for Protection of Western Ghats Forests — Justices V. Bharathidasan and N. Sathishkumar — is helping the wheels of the government machinery turn faster and more efficiently in sanctioning funds and implementing projects  

If one were to track back to when it all began, the date would probably be February 27, 2014, when the Madras High Court directed the Tamil Nadu government to frame a comprehensive policy for annihilating exotic and invasive species, such as eucalyptus and wattle, from the Western Ghats and instead restore the shola forests (a name derived from the Tamil word Solai and referring to tropical montane forests) to protect the indigenous species from extinction.

Eight years have passed since Justices R. Sudhakar (since retired) and V.M. Velumani passed the orders and Justices M.M. Sundresh (now a Supreme Court judge) and N. Sathish Kumar followed it up. Yet, the Forest Department has not begun even a pilot project so far. 

Losing patience, a Division Bench of Justices V. Bharathidasan and N. Satish Kumar has begun cracking the whip. Understanding the seriousness with which the court is viewing the issue, Additional Advocate-General J. Ravindran has assured it of the government’s commitment and promised to show progress by March 25.

This is just one of the many wildlife and forest-related cases that the Bench had been dealing with of late and had even succeeded in speeding up the government machinery.

Taking a serious note of numerous elephant deaths due to train hits, the Bench on February 3 this year directed the Railway Board to sanction funds for constructing two underpasses for the safe passage of elephants across the tracks between the Ettimadai station in Tamil Nadu and the Walayar station in Kerala. The Board sanctioned ₹7.49 crore out of turn and tenders were also invited on March 4.

Southern Railway counsel P.T. Ramkumar on Thursday told the Bench that the tenders would be opened on March 28 and the construction would be completed in four to five months, depending upon the monsoon. A nudge by the court has also ensured erection of solar lights and solar fencing along the track. Now, it has been pressing the Forest Department to deploy elephant watchers and erect watchtowers.

On learning from newspaper reports that Southern Railway had constructed a wall along the Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) line, between Mettupalayam and Udhagamandalam, and it was obstructing the free movement of elephants, the Bench made sure that the wall was demolished at once and the debris was removed so that the animals could move about freely.