SC gives Jharkhand a week to declare Saranda forests wildlife sanctuary

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Jharkhand government to decide within a week whether to officially declare the ecologically valuable Saranda forest area a wildlife sanctuary, signalling it does not intend to jail any officials over delays.

The issue involves a longstanding proposal to designate the Saranda and Sasangdaburu forests in West Singhbhum district as a wildlife sanctuary and a conservation reserve, respectively. The state government’s affidavit stated plans to notify 57,519.41 hectares, which exceeds the original sanctuary proposal of 31,468.25 hectares.

On 17 September, a bench led by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai criticised the Jharkhand government for “totally unfair conduct” and “dilly-dallying” over the sanctuary’s notification. The court summoned Jharkhand’s chief secretary Avinash Kumar to appear in person on 8 October to explain why the sanctuary had not yet been formally declared.

During Wednesday’s hearing, the senior official appeared and was represented by senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who requested an additional week to allow the government to take a decision.

“Either you do it or we will do it by issuing a writ of mandamus,” said the CJI, offering the government one final opportunity to notify 31,468.25 hectares as a wildlife sanctuary. “We are not interested in sending anybody to jail,” the bench added, adjourning the case until Wednesday next week.

Separately, the bench permitted the Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), represented by solicitor-general Tushar Mehta, to continue mining iron ore from existing mines near the proposed sanctuary, citing national importance. The court clarified that mining operations are permitted only from currently operational sites or those with previously granted leases.

Mehta emphasised that the company supplies steel to critical national projects, including the Chandrayaan mission, with most iron ore sourced from mines near the sanctuary. The court also directed state authorities not to issue any new mining leases in the area.

At the hearing’s start, Sibal explained the reasons for the delay, citing confusion caused by internal communication between the state government and the Wildlife Institute of India regarding the sanctuary’s proposed size.

Senior advocate K. Parameshwar, assisting the court as amicus curiae, confirmed the state’s commitment to declare 57,519.41 hectares, a larger area than initially proposed. The court remarked that at least there is no longer uncertainty about declaring 31,468.25 hectares as the sanctuary.

Previously, the court had expressed frustration over the government’s failure to comply with orders. It stated, “The Jharkhand government is in clear contempt of our order dated 29 April 2025...we therefore direct the chief secretary of Jharkhand to remain present in this court at 10.30 am on 8 October and show cause as to why contempt proceedings be not initiated.”

The Wildlife (Protection) Act empowers the state government, after consulting local communities, to declare government-owned areas — especially those adjacent to national parks or serving as corridors between protected zones — as conservation reserves to protect natural habitats.

The court criticised the government for setting up a committee on 13 May to reconsider the issue rather than acting on previous directions.

CJI Gavai, in a lighter moment, remarked, “The other day, the President (Droupadi Murmu) was telling me that Jharkhand has very good jails.”

The case arose from the state’s failure to follow earlier instructions by the National Green Tribunal (NGT). On 29 April, the court had reprimanded the government for delays, noting that despite a proposal from the principal chief conservator of forests submitted on 29 November 2024, the department of forest, environment and climate change sent the file back in March 2025 for further input, causing the process to stall.

The bench expressed disapproval at the government’s apparent practice of “unnecessarily delaying the matter by sending files from one authority to another”.

Abu Bakr Siddiqui, secretary of the department of forest, environment and climate change, personally appeared before the court and offered an unconditional apology, which was accepted, allowing him to be excused from further appearances.

The state informed the court it had expanded the sanctuary area from 31,468.25 hectares to 57,519.41 hectares, with an additional 13,603.806 hectares designated as the Sasangdaburu Conservation Reserve.