India News | SC to Conduct Final Hearing in July on Plea to Protect Forest, Wildlife from Fire in U'khand

New Delhi, Jan 12 (PTI) The Supreme Court Tuesday said it would accord final hearing in July to a plea which has sought directions to the Environment Ministry and the Uttarakhand government to take urgent steps to protect forests, wildlife and birds from forest fire in the state.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde took note of the submission of advocate and petitioner Rituparn Uniyal that a plea of the Uttarkhand government on same issues was also pending in the top court and decided to tag his PIL with that for final adjudication in July.

“List the matter along with Civil Appeal No.1249/2019 (of Uttarakhand government) in the month of July…. Pleadings be completed in the meantime,” said the bench which also comprised justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian.

  The plea has also sought that the entire animal kingdom, including avian and aquatic, be declared as legal entities having a distinct persona with corresponding rights, duties and liabilities of a living person.

During the hearing conducted through video-conferencing, Uniyal told the apex court that the high court had in 2016 passed directions on the issue related to forest fire and an appeal against that order was already pending here.

The advocate has sought a direction to the authorities to make pre-fire arrangements and frame a policy to prevent forest fires in Uttarakhand.

“It is the need of the hour that the concept of legal/juristic personality needs a wide interpretation so as to include in it the whole ecosystem with both biotic and abiotic components of the environment. In Hindu Mythology, every animal is associated with god. Animals breathe like us and have emotions, intelligence, culture, language, memory and co-operation,” the plea has said.

It said that forest fires in Uttarakhand have been a regular feature and every year it causes loss to the “forest ecosystem, diversity of flora and fauna and economic wealth” and also have adverse effects on glaciers.

“Forest and wildlife are the most important and precious natural resources and play a significant role in human life and environment. Forests are socially and environmentally inter-linked with the people in the hilly areas and play an important role in the economic welfare and development of the region,” it said.

It has alleged that despite a consistent history of forest fire in the state, “the ignorance, inactiveness, negligence and unreadiness” of the concerned authorities have rendered a great loss to the forests, wildlife and birds in Uttarakhand which has caused ecological imbalance.

The plea has referred to media reports and other studies on the issue and said that forest fires in the state are affecting the fragile ecosystem and destroying the invaluable forest resources.

“The respondents (concerned authorities) have failed to understand the gravity of the situation and to bring the situation under control. Uttarakhand has a disastrous history of forest fires and the destruction of flora and fauna which speaks for itself. The ignorance and unreadiness on the part of the respondents has caused the citizens to suffer imbalance in the environment,” it said.    

The plea said that residents of areas, where forest fire occurs, have also complained about problems in breathing and burning sensation due to smoke in the environment.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)