The message from the bench of the Honourable Justices Mahesh S Sonak and Bharat P Deshpande directing the government to notify the Cotigao Mhadei forest complex as a tiger reserve is very simple. And its strength and significance lie in its simplicity. It simply asked the government to complete the job it
set out to do till someone in the corridors of power blocked it.
It has also totally nullified the attempt at trying to spin a narrative to the people of Goa that tigers come to Goa as tourists and go away, quoting Supreme Court judgments and observations along with correspondence suggestions and actions taken by the Goa Forest Department and the Wildlife Board in preparing a proper plan for a
Tiger Reserve.
While the Forest Minister had declared that he would contest the judgment in the Supreme Court it is interesting to note that the High Court judgment itself was inspired by the Supreme Court’s past observations and orders, the most important of which is that animals species have been endangered due to the destructive attitude of man for pleasure and gain.
Man-made laws have a bias towards man, but in the universe animals and man are equally placed
Above all the judgment is a complete eye-opener to the way people in power, who are mandated to protect the ecosystem of forests and wildlife; themselves become a party to its destruction. Even as the Forest Minister plans to go to the Supreme Court against the judgment, the judgment itself in Para 145 quotes a landmark Supreme Court judgment (see a detailed box with the main story) which states: “Laws are man-made, hence there is the likelihood of bias towards man and rights of wild animals often tend to be of secondary importance but in the universe animals and man are equally placed.”
It is the court that protected the future of Goa by telling it that tigers are natural inhabitants of our tiger corridors and forests. A Tiger Reserve is the natural and most apparent status that our forests should have. And this declaration will also lead to the protection of our forests from intrusive projects like double tracking. And above all this declaration changes the status but does not change the way the current status is and will not displace anyone.
Para 157 states: “Therefore it is not as if no sooner than a tiger reserve is notified, there would be some large scale resettlement and relocation of Scheduled Tribes and other forest dwellers occupying some areas in the tiger reserve.”
The judgment is clear and strong that the fears and doubts expressed by refusing to notify Mhadei as a Tiger Reserve were unfounded and hold absolutely no ground.
This is one of the most significant environmental judgments which will have far-reaching impacts on protecting Goa’s forests, and its River Mhadei and prevent it from destructive projects like double tracking through protected forests.
