MTN 73:1-2 Bhitarkanika Ecosystem Protected by Court's Decision

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Bhitarkanika Ecosystem Protected by Court's Decision

Chhatrapati Singh
Centre for Environmental Law, WWF-India, 172-B Lodi Estate New Delhi - 110003 INDIA.

Accomplishments of the Bhitarkanika Litigation:

Orissa High Court orders all construction activities for roads and jetties to be put in abeyance.
Sanctuary is brought under a Centrally sponsored scheme of the Ministry of Environment and Forests to be funded by the Planning Commission.
World Bank stops aid for commercial aquaculture activity in the region.
World Bank sanctions a fund for holistic eco-development of the area.
For the first time, the Court orders punishment of Government officials involved.

Bhitarkanika is a unique ecosystem situated on the eastern coast of India in the State of Orissa. The area includes Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary and Gahirmatha National Park, both of international repute. The uniqueness of the topography lies in the manner in which the region is crisscrossed by a network of rivers and flanked by the sea on one side. The region is home to a wide variety of spectacular plant and animal species, the keystone species being the olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea). The area boasts wetlands, backwaters, and brackish water regions. The vegetation varies from the deltaic mangrove forests to the deciduous and semi-deciduous forests.

Instead of endeavouring to safeguard this rich natural heritage, the Orissa Government embarked on building roads, bridges and fishing complexes in the region violating the 1972 Wildlife Protection Act (WPA), the 1980 Forest Conservation Act (FCA), and the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification issued under the 1986 Environment (Protection) Act (EPA), thereby threatening the existence of the mangrove ecosystem. The Centre for Environmental Law (CEL), WWF-India filed a Writ Petition (OJC No. 3128 of 1994) and a stay application in the Orissa High Court at Cuttack on 22 April 1994 in a bid to save the Bhitarkanika

Sanctuary from destruction. The Writ Petition inter alia sought a stay on all illegal activity in the area.

In the hearing on 16 May 1994, the Court directed the Chief Wildlife Warden, Orissa, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Orissa and the authorised officer under the Orissa Marine Fishing (Regulation) Act to be impleaded in the petition. Notices to show cause were issued to them. Vide order dated 12 July 1994, the High Court stayed all construction activities. It also ordered the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Committee to expedite its work and submit a report within three months. Subsequently, the Government was asked to reconstitute the EIA Committee to the satisfaction of the Court. A Local Commissioner was ordered to visit Bhitarkanika and to submit a report by 21 November 1994. On submission of the report, the Court asked CEL to provide a concrete action plan for the Sanctuary.

The case came up for final hearing on 7 August 1995 and was continued on 30 August 1995 to enable all the respondents to present their arguments. On the latter date the general consensus was that the Committee's report be accepted, the settlement of rights be done on a priority, and no violations of the WPA be accepted. The Judge wanted an assurance from the Government and asked them to file an affidavit to that effect. Thereafter, on 30 October 1995, arguments began and were completed in a week. Vide the Court orders the interim stay would continue, the Central Government was given the liberty to initiate legal proceedings against all those officers who were responsible for violating the EPA (CRZ Notification) and FCA by the construction of the jetty. The State Government has been directed to file an affidavit to explain any violations of the WPA committed by its officers. This direction was given as the State Government had deliberately omitted to reply to this allegation by the CEL in respect WPA violations.

Editor's note: The October 1993 issue of the MTN included a Special Supplement entitled, "Urgent and Immediate Action Needed to Safeguard the World's Largest Aggregation of Nesting Sea Turtles". The Supplement summarized the grave threats facing the nesting beach and the Bhitarkanika Sanctuary in general. These threats involved plans to develop a major fishing port (including a jetty large enough to accommodate 500 mechanized fishing boats and shrimp trawlers), a processing plant and commercial shrimp mariculture facility, and an access road through sensitive mangrove areas. In response, readers from around the world wrote letters to Government officials in India. The MTN initiative, in addition to "alerts" put forward on the Internet by the Centre for Environmental Law and WWF following the Orissa Government's notification for public response, "resulted in an overwhelming flow of letters from numerous concerned NGOs from all over the world. I wish to personally thank all those who wrote to the Orissa Government. Without this joint effort the success could not have been achieved." (Dr. Chhatrapati Singh, in litt. 9 March 1996). We will continue to provide MTN readers with updated information on this serious issue.