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Supreme Court Pauses Mhadei Sanctuary's Tiger Reserve Designation
8 Sep
Summary
- Supreme Court orders no new projects in Mhadei Sanctuary
- Central committee to hear stakeholders and decide issue in 6 weeks
- Goa government challenged high court order to notify sanctuary as tiger reserve
In a significant development, the Supreme Court of India has intervened to temporarily pause the process of designating the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary in Goa as a tiger reserve. This comes after the Goa government and other parties challenged a previous Bombay High Court order directing the state to notify the sanctuary and its surrounding areas as a tiger reserve within three months.
The Supreme Court bench, comprising Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justices K. Vinod Chandran and Atul S. Chandurkar, has now asked a central empowered committee to hear from all stakeholders and decide the issue within the next six weeks. Crucially, the court has also ordered that no new projects or development activities be undertaken in the Mhadei Sanctuary during this period.
The Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary, spread over 208 square kilometers, is located in the northeastern part of Goa, bordering the state of Karnataka. The high court's earlier directive was issued in response to a plea filed by the NGO Goa Foundation, seeking the state's compliance with the National Tiger Conservation Authority's (NTCA) request to notify the area as a tiger reserve.
