PANJIM: The State government failed to settle rights and claims of forest dwellers and Scheduled Tribes (STs) within a year and sought extension of time to settle them.
On July 24, last year, the High Court had asked the government to settle the rights of forest dwellers and STs by July 24, 2024, while passing the order regarding notifying Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary and surrounding protected areas as a Tiger Reserve.
But on Tuesday, while hearing a miscellaneous civil application filed by the Goa Foundation, the State government made an application before the Court seeking more time to settle rights of the forest dwellers in notified areas of Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary.
The High Court had asked the government to determine and settle the rights of STs and other forest dwellers by following the law as expeditiously as possible within 12 months from the date of the order declaring Tiger Reserve within three months.
But as the one-year time period ended on July 24, the government sought for extension in time.
Besides notifying a Tiger Reserve, the Court had also asked the government to additionally prepare a tiger conservation plan as per the Wildlife Protection Act and to submit it to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) within three months..
However, the State government had so far set up eight additional anti-poaching camps at strategic locations staffed by forest guards, watchers, etc, in the Wildlife Sanctuary and National Parks across Goa.
Meanwhile, the Goa government’s special leave application (SLP) challenging the High Court’s direction to declare Tiger Reserve was scheduled to come for hearing on August 14 as per status given on the Supreme Court website. In view of this, the High Court adjourned the matter beyond August 14.
In September last year, the Supreme Court refused to grant stay to the High Court’s order, directing the State government to notify the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary and its surrounding areas as a Tiger Reserve, and had issued notices to the Goa Foundation, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC), National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Goa State Board for Wildlife, Chief Wildlife Warden and the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest.
