Regarding the unsatisfactory affidavits submitted in the court in the past, the additional chief secretary (ACS) and chief wildlife warden (CWW) apologised in the high court on Friday. Hearing on a PIl regarding the safety of tigers and other wildlife in national parks and reserved forests of the State, the division bench of the high court comprising acting chief justice Rajeev Sharma and justice lok Pal Singh directed that a fresh affidavit be submitted on August 16. The court also directed the FIRs be lodged within 24 hours against owners of resorts where elephants had been kept and treated cruelly for taking tourists on rides. On the issue of the special tiger protection force (STPF) not working effectively so far, the ACS assured the court that proposal regarding it will be presented to the Chief Minister and the forest and wildlife minister within a week. During the hearing which lasted for about two hours, the court observed that while considerable number of wildlife deaths are taking place in the national parks, the forest department appears to have sympathy for encroachers instead.
Hearing on the PIl filed by the Ramnagar-based Himalayan Yuva Gramin Sanstha, the HC directed lodging of FIRs within 24 hours against owners of resorts guilty of keeping elephants in captivity and mistreating them in order to take tourists on rides. The court also directed that seven such elephants should be tended to properly and rehabilitated only after they are found to be fit.
The court also sought the time frame for relocation of 57 Van Gujjar families living in the buffer zone of Corbett national park. The officials were asked why could such families not be issued a two-month notice to evict the places they were occupying.
Expressing dissatisfaction at non-functional status of the STPF formed in 2014 the officials were asked to explain by when it would start functioning effectively.
The HC division bench also directed lower courts to dispose cases against those accused of wildlife poaching within six months and stated that the progress report on this should be submitted to the office of the HC registrar general. Directing that the union ministry concerned should also be made a party in the case, the court further directed that under passes should be constructed where railway tracks pass through elephant corridors. The speed of a train should not be more than 25 kmph in such areas.