APPENDIX N3
Supreme Court: the Environmental Case
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The Supreme Court of India has delivered a landmark judgment in the Public Interest Litigation filed 1995 by SANE, Kalpavriksh and BNHS (WP202: IA 502) on 7th May, 2002. As SANE leader, Mr. Samir Acharya says, "this order is like a boon to us; granting all our prayers, the issues we had been working for during the last decade. The order if and when implemented, will drastically alter both the development and conservation scenario in the Islands and one hopes will make the Islands a much better place for the Islanders to live in and will protect this biodiversity hotspot for the nature lovers across the world." The order accepts the Shekhar Singh Commission's report
except where modified. The major recommendations not
mentioned in the order are: Implementing the Court's decision and keeping to the very demanding time frame will be a major challenge for all parties concerned. How local industry (especially the Port Blair logging interests and the Port Blair government) will react to and implement the judgment only time will tell. The situation must be closely monitored and SANE with its allies deserves all our the support. |
SOCIETY FOR ANDAMAN and NICOBAR ECOLOGY (SANE)
Post Bag No, 63
Port Blair; 744 101
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
India
Contact Person: Samir Acharya
Tel: 91 3192 32929/34624/35002
Fax: 36014/33072
E-mail: sane@andamanisles.com
Web site: www.andamanisles.com
The Recommendations
of Prof. Shekhar Singh, Commissioner,
Supreme Court
Forest Harvesting
1) Felling of trees and collection of non-timber forest produce
(NTFP) should be banned from the forests of Little Andaman Island and
all tribal reserves except for
i) collection of NTFP from already worked forests of Little Andaman
and from forest areas designated for the purpose in the Nicobar group
of Islands, for meeting the legitimate consumption of local
inhabitants; and
ii) collection of timber and other forest produce by tribals living
within tribal reserves for meeting their bonafide needs.
2) Harvesting of all forest produce including timber and NTFP should be completely prohibited from National Parks and Sanctuaries.
3) In addition to areas covered under 1 and 2 above, no felling of trees should be allowed in any unworked forest area, i.e., area where felling of trees as per working plans, working schemes, felling schemes or approved working plans, has not taken place earlier. There should also be no diversion of forestland from any such unworked area or from areas covered under 1 and 2 above, without the specific orders of the Supreme Court.
4) No felling of trees for whatsoever reasons or justification should be carried out to supply to, or to meet the raw material requirement of, plywood, veneer, blockboard, match stick or any other such wood based units except to local small-scale units (including saw mills) solely for meeting the local requirement for sawn timber and other wood based products.
5) For meeting the timber and other forest produce requirements of inhabitants of the ANI, felling of trees from forest areas not covered under 1, 2 and 3 above, i.e. forest area worked earlier in accordance with working plans, working schemes, felling schemes or approved working plan and excluding areas falling within national parks, sanctuaries, tribal reserves, or Little Andaman, may be allowed. Such felling may be undertaken as per prescriptions of the working plans approved by the MoEF. These plans should also contain action plans for removing, in a phased manner, trees of commercial species that are in number or concentration in excess of what is found in a natural forest of the same type and similar location. Concurrently, efforts should be made to bring back the forest to its natural profile by encouraging /reintroducing those species of fauna and flora that naturally occurred in these forests prior to their being "converted. The working plan should also contain sufficient provisions for regeneration of felled areas. In accordance with an earlier Supreme Court order of 22nd September, 2000, felling of trees should be allowed only it sufficient financial provisions for implementing the working plan prescriptions have been made.
6) In the meanwhile, the present ban on felling of trees may be continued and the local requirement of timber and other forest produce may be met by utilising the already felled trees and sawn timber lying with the forest department and the ANIFPDC.
7) Once the stock of already felled trees and sawn timber is depleted, the local requirement of timber should be met, as far as possible, by harvesting the mono culture and mixed plantations of padauk, gurjan, teak and other species. The felling of trees from already worked natural forest, as specified in 5 above, should be undertaken only to meet the balance requirement. However, if the local requirement of timber and other forest produce is more than what could be obtained by felling of plantations and sustainably extracting trees from worked areas, as specified in 5 above, the same may be met by bringing timber in from other parts of the country. Under no circumstances should the over harvesting of the forest available for felling under para 5 above be permitted or undertaken.
8) There should be no expansion of monoculture or commercial plantations on forestland. The existing plantations of oil palm, rubber and teak are reportedly no longer viable and should be phased out. The land so released should, in so far as it is forestland, be regenerated as specified earlier. Consequently, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Forest Plantation and Development Corporation Ltd. (ANIFPDC) should be wound up as it was primarily set up to promote commercial forestry and plantations, especially in Little Andaman.
9) At the same time, efforts should be made to reduce the level of demand for timber and for firewood. For the purpose, the AandN Administration should investigate and implement methods of achieving this, including the conversion to the wood and bamboo based "Assam type construction, which is both less timber intensive, and safer in earthquakes, than the present all-timber or RCC buildings.
Wood-based Industry
10) There should be a complete ban on the establishment of any new wood based unit for the next 10 years.
11) All existing small-scale wood based units (saw mills) should be relocated within industrial estates or, where industrial estates are not feasible, in locations contiguous to forest offices or otherwise convenient for the forest department to monitor. This relocation should be completed within one year, after which the non-complying saw mills should be closed down. These saw mills should also be required to obtain a licence from the ANI Forest Department within three months and to maintain such records as may be prescribed by the forest department. Their licence may be renewed every year at the discretion of the ANI Forest Department, after the department has satisfied itself that a) the unit was not involved in the use of any illegal timber; b) the prescribed records were properly maintained; c) all provision of the act, rules and the terms and conditions stipulated by the forest department from time to time have been complied with. Necessary rules, guidelines etc., for the purpose, should be prescribed by the forest department within three months.
12) No subsidy of any type, including transport subsidy, should be given to any wood based unit.
13) Existing medium and large scale wood based industries (including plywood, veneer, and match industries) can be allowed to function provided they import their entire requirement of wood and other forest based raw materials from the mainland or from abroad. No subsidies should be allowed to them.
14) No timber, either as logs or as sawn timber or plywood/veneer, or in any other form, should be transported out of the Islands through any means whatsoever. This should not, however, inhibit the transportation, as personal baggage, of a reasonable quantity of wooden handicrafts by tourists or of personal articles by those permanently leaving the islands. Also, where a wood based industry, as specified in 13 above, imports its entire wood and forest based raw material requirement, then it should be permitted to export its finished product.
15) All timber, bamboo and cane used for construction and requiring treatment in order to extend its durability and life, should be so treated and the administration should ensure that requisite capacity to treat all such timber is in position within a period of six months. After the expiry of this period, no timber, bamboo or cane of the type requiring treatment should be sold for use in building and construction activities, or used for such purpose, unless it has been appropriately treated.
16) Any further regularisation of encroachments on forestland in any from, including allotment/use of forestland for agricultural or horticultural purposes, should be strictly prohibited.
17) All those families who have been identified as having encroached on forest land prior to 1978 and have not yet shifted to their allotted rehabilitation sites, should be given three months notice to vacate their encroachments and shift to the allotted land. Failing this, their allotment should be cancelled and they should be forcibly evicted within three months of the deadline being over, without any further claim to land or any other form of rehabilitation.
18) Similarly, those among the pre-1978 families that have shifted to their allotted sites but have occupied more land than they were entitled to, should also be given three months notice to vacate the extra land occupied by them. On the expiry of this notice period, the allotments of those who have not complied with this notice should be cancelled and they should be forcibly evicted within three months, without any further claim to compensation or land.
19) All post 1978 forest encroachments should be completely removed forthwith and, in any case, within six months. Post 1978 encroachers (except for foreign nationals) should be allotted homesteads in revenue land and training and opportunity for self-employment or for other types of livelihood activities provided.
20) The forest officials in the ANI should be given requisite
powers to do this, including:
(i) Power of summary eviction of encroachments: As in the case of
Madhya Pradesh, vide Section 80A, IFA, 1927.
(ii) Magisterial powers to assistant conservators of forests: The
Assistant Conservators of Forests should be appointed as executive
magistrates/special executive magistrates in order to oversee the
evictions carried out by the Range Officers on receipt of orders of
eviction from the estate officers.
21) For the purpose, an effective action plan should be prepared and implemented under direct supervision, monitoring and control of a committee comprising of the Lt. Governor, Chief Secretary, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests of ANI, and reputed local NGO representatives. The Chief Secretary, ANI, may be asked to file a monthly progress report in the Supreme Court.
22) In order to prevent any further encroachments and rampant immigration, the Administration should, within three months, regulate the entry of people to the islands by having the Islands declared as an inner line area and by imposing relevant restrictions under section 3 and other provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986. In accordance with this, non-residents entering the islands should have to invariably register themselves so that those who do not return to the mainland within a reasonable time can be traced and, where they have illegally encroached on land, can be evicted from these encroachments at the earliest. In addition, entry to the more vulnerable and forested areas of the Islands should be restricted.
23) Once this regulation is in position, the administration should in a time bound manner issue identity cards to all the residents so that there is no gap in the period of identification and issuance of ID cards. This would ensure that fresh illegal encroachers are easily identified. Subsidised travel to the Islands should, once identity cards have been issued, be available only to bonafide residents of the Islands.
24) Divisional Forest Officers and, where relevant, village protection committees, as described later, should be made responsible for prevention, early detection and quick eviction of new forest encroachers.
25) The forest department should be strengthened and appropriate village institutions set up for the purpose, as detailed later.
26) The Andaman Trunk Road should be closed to all vehicular traffic from Miletilak in South Andaman to the northern boundary of the S. Andaman Island. Similarly, it should be closed to all traffic from Kadamtala (corresponding to Prolobjig camp No.3) in Middle Andaman up to Kaushalya Nagar (corresponding to Porlobjig camp No. 15). This should be done within three months. Further, no person except for the Jarawas living in the Reserve should be allowed to enter the Reserve by any means unless he/she is permitted by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, and the Secretary, Tribal Welfare, ANI Administration, and no such permission should be granted unless the person is proceeding on bonafide work related to the welfare of the tribals or the protection of the area.
27) The felling of 27 trees for the 33 KV transmission line from Bamboo Flat to Minnie Bay, and 17 trees for construction of rural road from Adajig to Flat Bay Village should be permitted as a one-time relaxation, as these projects are already in their final stages, a small number of trees are involved and, reportedly, necessary clearances had been obtained from the MoEF prior to the Supreme Court‚s order of 10.01.01. However, all other proposals or clearances under the Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980 or the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986, where diversion of land or felling of trees or other activities that would have an impact on the environment, are still to be undertaken, should be put up for review by the Supreme Court.
28) For the conservation and protection of the forests and other ecosystems, an effective action plan should be prepared by the ANI Forest Department, in consultation with local NGOs and experts. This plan should also envisage a suitable enhancement of the protected area network, especially in the main islands of the Andaman and in the Nicobar Group. All unworked forest areas in Diglipur, Mayabunder, Middle Andamans and Baratang should be made into national parks, leaving a buffer belt between the national park boundary and the edge of revenue settlements, for protection by village protection committees. In addition, there should be a consolidation of the nearly hundred small island parks and sanctuaries and they should be constituted into viable units encompassing the marine areas surrounding them. This plan, after being approved by the MoEF, should be strictly implemented. The necessary funds, vehicles, equipment, human power, police help and legal power required for the effective implementation of this action plan should be made available by the ANI administration.
29) Appropriate regulations under existing Acts like the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986, with similar objectives as The Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994, currently in force in the Union Territory of Delhi, should be set in place in ANI, within six months, to regulate the felling of trees on non-forest land.
30) The Forest Department should be immediately strengthened in order to be able to effectively prevent poaching.
31) Forest officers should be given adequate powers, under the
Indian Forest Act of 1927 (IFA,) as has been done in other states, to
meet the threat of poaching. These could include:
(i) Power of confiscation: as provided for vide Section 52, 52A, 52B
and 52C IFA, 1927 in Bihar, Section 52A and 52B in Himachal Pradesh,
Section 52, 52A, 52B, and 52C in Madhya Pradesh, Section 62A to 61G
of Goa, Section 61a to Section 62G of Gujarat, and Section 61A to 61G
of Maharashtra.
(ii) Increase in the limit fixed for amount of compensation for trees
under section 68(3) IFA, 1927: The present limit of Rs. 50 is
required to be increased to Rs. 10000/- as in Goa.
32) A co-ordination mechanism should be set up where the forest department, the civil administration, the Coast Guard and the Combined Defence Command in ANI can take co-ordinated action against poachers, especially against foreign poachers.
33) No exotic species of fauna or flora should be introduced into the islands. Accordingly, a suitable set of guidelines and procedures should be developed for the purpose.
34) A time bound action plan should be drawn up to deal with the exotics already on the island, including weeds, and their removal/eradication should be taken up on a war footing, including the translocation of elephants back to the mainland and the inhibition of breeding, by deer, by darting the alpha males with anti-fertility drugs, as has been successfully tried in other countries.
35) The practice of distributing timber and NTFP free to settlers should be discontinued. Instead, rural populations should be formed into village forest protection committees and, as per the joint forest protection norms prevalent in other parts of the country, the amount of timber and NTFP required by village communities should be given to them on the basis of a memorandum of understanding, in return for their role in protecting the forests adjacent to their settlements and in detecting and preventing encroachments.
36) Government departments, including defence and PWD, should be supplied fuel wood and other required forest produce by the forest department and should not be permitted to directly collect these from the forests.
37) Concurrent efforts should be made to minimise demand for forest-based resources. The Administration should encourage the use of sawdust as fuel, as is the practice in many other parts of the country. They should also investigate the possibility of replacing firewood as a domestic fuel by gas and consider giving a one-time subsidy for the purchase of gas stoves and cylinders to the poor rural population. Adequate supply of LPG to the Islands should be ensured on a priority basis.
38) The extraction of sand should be phased out and no further extension should be granted after the current extension is over on 30 September, 2002.
39) As already mentioned earlier, alternate material for construction, including treated bamboo and soft woods, should be encouraged as this is less damaging to the environment and safer in case of an earth quake. Stone dust should be utilised where use of concrete is essential.
40) No concrete or permanent infrastructure for tourism should be built on any forest area in the Islands. Tourist activities in forest areas should be restricted to tented accommodation or temporary wooden/prefabricated structures that can be dismantled easily and moved to another site. These areas should remain under the control of the forest department who should be responsible for ensuring that the quantum and type of tourism is such that it does not in any way degrade the forests or other ecosystems.
41) A proper eco-friendly tourism plan should be developed for the Islands within one year. This plan should also do an economic and a distributional analysis to highlight how tourism can make a net contribution to the economy of the Islands and how the economic benefits can be equitably distributed among the various segments of the local society and generate local employment.
42) Such a plan must be in conformity with the requirement for conserving the ecological and cultural integrity of the Islands and not pose a security threat to this strategically important area.
Miscellaneous Recommendations
43) The forest department and the administration of ANI should make public at the beginning of each year the proposed uses of natural resources, including forests. This detailed information specifying, among other things, uses, locations, quantum, purpose and users, and giving details of the basis on which these decisions have been made, should be published in the local news papers and also made available on a web site to be maintained for the purpose by the administration. At the end of each year, actual use, deviations from the proposals and the reasons thereof, must also be similarly made public.
44) The various forest working plans/protected area management plans should also be made accessible to the public, as soon as they are approved. Copies should be kept at all public libraries and other accessible places in the Islands. In addition, copies should be freely made available to the general public, on demand, after charging actual costs of photocopying.
45) All officers of the administration, including forest officers, should undergo an orientation training of at least five days, every three years, to acquaint themselves with the ecological characteristics of the Islands and the options available for their economic development in an environmentally and socially sustainable manner. Officers being posted from the mainland to these islands should be so oriented within three months of their posting.
46) The Government of India and the ANI Administration should consider setting up an Island Development Institute in ANI, that can become a centre of research, training and education for managing island and coastal ecosystems in a sustainable manner. This institute could not only cater to national needs but, over time, also become a regional institution. A proposal to the effect already exists and was submitted to the IDA many years back. It can be suitably modified and considered.
47) There are many areas that need to be properly researched and
many problems that need innovative solutions. These include:
(i) A assessment of the ecological differences between worked and
un-worked forests.ð Methods of returning the worked and
encroached forests to a their natural state.
(ii) Methods of further working forests in a manner that minimises
impact on biodiversity and the environment.
(iii) Methods to conserve soil and water.
(iv) Feasibility of generating energy through non-conventional
methods, including wind and tidal energy.
(v) Methods of treating garbage and other pollutants, thereby
protecting the coastal and marine environment from degradation.
(vi) Methods of using alternate building materials that are
environmentally friendly and sustainable.
These and other required studies should be commissioned on a priority basis so that their findings can be urgently applied for the betterment of the islands.
Some possible Implications of the Recommendations
1) There is likely to be some loss of employment, as detailed
below, if these recommendations were followed.
a. Loss of about 300 jobs if Kitlpy Industries close down as a result
of these recommendations.
b. Loss of about 2000 jobs if the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Forest
and Plantation Development Corporation closes down.
c. Loss of some employment (exact quantum not known) due to the ban
on export of timber. However, this is likely to be very small, as
very little timber was being sent to the mainland by private
sawmills. In 1998-99 it was 923 cum, in 99-2000 it was 570 cum and in
2000-01 it was 614 cum.
d. Surplus staff in the forest department due to curtailing of forest
working and extraction.
e. Some loss of livelihood due to the banning of extraction of
sand.
f. Some loss of road transport related employment due to the banning
of traffic on the Andaman Trunk Road.
g. Need for additional sources of livelihood for about 2300 post 1978
forest encroachers, once they are removed from the forests.
2) However, following from these recommendations, there will also
be significant cost saving and additional employment opportunities,
as detailed below.
(a) Savings on transport subsidies to the forest based industry to
the tune of rupees five to six crores per year.
(b) Savings from the closing down of two forest depots, one in
Chennai and one in Kolkata, reportedly around rupees one crore a
year.
(c) Additional employment for setting up forest protection
forces.
(d) Additional employment in regenerating encroached areas and
earlier worked forests.
(e) Additional employment in the shipping sector due to increased
ferry traffic after closing down the Andaman Trunk Road.
3) There are other relatively untapped or under-utilised areas of
employment that can be developed. Including:
(a) Fisheries (especially coastal) with local involvement. Current
estimates suggest that only a small proportion of the fishery
potential is being tapped. The islands have a continental shelf of 16
to 35 thousand sq km (according to different sources) and an
exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 600,000 sq km, which is 28% of the
total Indian EEZ. The total potential has been variously calculated
to be between 12,000 and 160,000 tonnes of fish (Master Plan for
Andaman and Nicobar islands for the Development of Fisheries,
Government of India, Ministry of Agriculture, 1989), just from the
shelf area. However, more recent estimates are between 45,000 and
1,60,000 tonnes pa. According to the ANI administration, the current
levels of harvest are just a fraction of the harvestable potential
(Volume II, page 136).
(b). Production of goods/food for local use ˆ and the consequent
removal of subsidies for transportation of these goods from the
mainland. At present, almost all the goods for local consumption come
from the mainland. Their transportation, by ship, also costs the
government dearly in subsidies. However, many of these goods can be
produced locally. This would not only promote local employment and
save on subsidies, but also cut down on the requirement for cargo
space.
(c) Handicrafts. There is great potential for developing artisanal
handicrafts industry and this could provide significant additional
employment.
(d) Swiftlet nest cultivation. This is potentially a very lucrative
activity. There is great demand for swiftlet nests in the nearby
Southeast Asian countries, and 1 kg fetched between Rupees one and
two lakhs. A note describing the potential has been enclosed in
Volume II, page 300.
(e) Orchids cultivation. This, again, has tremendous potential, as
these islands have a large number of very beautiful and rare
orchids.
(f) Spices/ Medicinal plants without expanding agricultural land. All
official settlers in the islands were given two hectares of flat
(valley) land and two hectares of hill land. Much of this hill land
is still forested and its conversion to agricultural land, apart from
not being economically viable, would also cause significant soil
erosion and disrupt the water cycles. Therefore, this land can be
used for activities conducive to soil and water conservation, like
high value spices/medicinal plants. There are many valuable spices
and medicinal plants that are found in the Islands.
(g). Eco tourism. This, again, has tremendous potential. High value
specialised ecological tourism can generate a fair amount of local
employment at all levels.
(h) Water and soil conservation works. These are desperately needed
in the ANI, which has acute water shortage and is also losing a lot
of its topsoil, thereby disrupting the terrestrial, coastal and
marine ecosystem. Existing schemes of the government of India, like
the watershed programme, can be extended and strengthened in these
islands to both conserve the environment and generate employment.
4) Consequently, the potential for additional employment, if properly developed, is enough to offset any adverse impacts of the recommendations. Besides, if the Island is developed as a centre of education, research and training in island and coastal management, as recommended earlier, many additional jobs can be created. In fact, over time, caution will have to be exercised to ensure that the requirement for human power in the Islands does not exceed the local supply, necessitating further migration from the mainland.
5) There is also some concern expressed by the ANI forest
department that if felling in unworked forests was banned then the
worked forests and plantations would not be able to support even the
local demands for timber. However, detailed discussions with the
department and a scrutiny of documents and data brings out the
following facts:
(a) The total area of worked forests in the Andamans, excluding
Little Andaman, is approximately 100,000 ha.
(b) Most of these forests were worked in a manner such that only a
proportion of the mature trees of commercial species were extracted
and the immature ones left.
(c) Therefore, in each hectare of the worked forests there should now
be a large number of mature trees that were either left behind as
mother trees or that were immature when the logging was done fifty to
sixty years ago, but are now mature and ready for harvesting.
(d) As the surplus number of commercial trees, in excess of what
would have been their numbers in a natural forest, have to be removed
in order to allow the forests to return to as close a natural form as
possible, the extraction of these mature trees would serve the dual
purpose of providing timber for local consumption and returning the
forests to a near-natural profile.
(e). It has been estimated that at least 10 cum per hectare can be
safely and sustainably extracted from these worked forests, though
once working plans are made the figure might go up. Therefore, given
that the total available worked forest is 100,000 ha, the total
availability of commercial timber would work out to 1,000,000 cum.
This would be enough to meet the local timber demands (calculated at
30,000 cum per year currently, but likely to go down once timber
conservation efforts are put in place) for at least 30 years, by
which time additional timber would have become mature and
harvestable.
(f) In addition. There are over 12,500 ha of plantations of hardwoods
done in the islands (annex 4). It is estimated that these
plantations, that in any case need to be cleared so that the land can
be regenerated, will provide 300 to 500 cum per hectare, depending on
the species. This would work out to between 37,50,000 cum to
6,250,000 cum of timber, which would by itself be enough to meet the
local hardwood requirements (calculated to be about 25,000 cum per
annum - for details see Volume II ˆpage 154-55, 161) for between
150 and 250 years. Needless to say, both in the plantations and in
the worked forest areas, extraction should start first in the
earliest plots and proceed to newer ones so that adequate time is
given for regeneration.
6) The forest department has also expressed a concern that if no export of timber is allowed to the mainland then this might lead to the artificial manipulation of timber prices locally and prices would be artificially forced down, as the forest department would have no option but to sell their timber locally or have it perish. However, considering that the forest department saw mills have a combined capacity of 29,000 cum pa they could, if required, process all the timber that is harvested in a year, thereby preventing it from deteriorating. Besides, once the capacity to treat timber has been enhanced, as recommended, there should be no danger of any timber being wasted if the local sawmills do not pick it up. In case timber in any month is not picked up, felling for subsequent months or seasons could be trimmed to take this into consideration.
7) A concern has also been expressed that forests need to be worked in case they are to remain healthy and "over mature and dead trees need to be removed. There is also the view that once a tree reaches a certain age, it has a "negative increment and, therefore, must be cut. However, these arguments do not stand up to scientific scrutiny. Forests have existed and continue to exist in areas where they have never been "managed by human beings. There are many examples of this in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands itself. The concern for negative increment and for "healthy forests is a concern that might be relevant to commercial plantations but is certainly not tenable where natural forests are concerned. In fact dead trees are as important a part of natural ecosystems, both as habitat to specialised species of fauna and flora and an input into the soil, as are live trees.
The Judgment
W.P(C)No. 202 OF 1995
ITEM Nos.16 to 25 and 29
COURT No. 1
SECTION PIL
S U P R E M E - C O U R T - O F - I N D I A
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
I.A. No. 502 in W.P.(C) No. 202/1995
T.N. GODAVARMAN THIRUMALPAD Petitioner
VERSUS
UNION OF INDIA and ORS. Respondents (for intervention)
with I.A. No. 737 in I.A. No. 502 in W.P.(C) No. 202/1995 (for directions)
ITEM NO.20
I.A. Nos.723-724 in W.P.(C) No. 202/95 (for intervention and
clarification/modification)
WITH
I.A. No. 711 in I.A. No. 502 in W.P. (C) No. 502/1995 (for
intervention/modification/clarification and directions)
ITEM NO.22
I.A. No. 738 in I.A. No. 502 in W.P.(C) No. 202/1995 (for
intervention on behalf of Andaman Furniture Industries
Association)
WITH
I.A. No. 739 in I.A. No. 502 in W.P.(C) No. 202/1995 (for
clarification/modification of order dated 23.11.2001 on behalf of
Andaman Furniture Industries Association)
Date : 07/05/2002
These Petitions were called on for hearing today.
CORAM :
HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ARIJIT PASAYAT
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE H.K. SEMA
Amicus Curiae:
Mr. Harish N Salve, SG (AC)
Mr. U U Lalit, Adv. (AC)
Mr. Siddharth Chaudhary, Adv.
For Ministry of Environment and Forests/UoI:
Mr. A D N Rao, Adv.
Mr. R N Poddar, Adv.
Mr. S Wasim A Qadri, Ms. Alka Agarwal,
Mr. A K Raina, Mr. P Parmeswaran
Ms. Anil Katiyar and Mr. B V Balram
Das, Advs.
For Applicant(s):
IA 502
Mr. Colin Gonsalves, Adv.
M/s. Ritwick Dutta, Vipin Mathew Benjamin,
Aparna Bhat and Sweta Kakkad, Advs.
IA 723-724
Mr. K K Venugopal, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Gopal Jain, Adv.
Ms. Ruby Singh Ahuja, Adv.
IA 711
Mr. M N Krishnamani, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Parthapratim Chaudhuri, Adv.
Mr. Soumyajit Pani, Adv.
Mr. K S Rana, Adv.
IA 738 and 739
Mr. S Muralidhar, Adv.
Mr. S Vallinayagam, Adv.
Mr. Shreyas Jayasimha, Adv.
For Respondent(s):
Andaman and Nicobar Administration
Mr. Altaf Ahmad, ASG
Ms. Sunita Sharma and Mr. Ashok Bhan
Mr. D.S. Mahra, Adv.
Mr. K Subba Rao, Adv.
Mr. Anil Kumar Pandey, Adv.
Mr. Rohit K Singh, Adv.
Ms. Alka Agarwal, Adv.
Mr. R.N. Poddar, Adv.
Mr. B.V. Balaram Das, Adv.
Mr. Prasenjit Keswani, Adv.
UPON hearing counsel, the Court made the following O R D E R
After hearing the learned Amicus Curiae, counsel for the parties and taking into consideration the affidavit of the Union of India - Ministry of Environment and Forests in relation to survey of eco-system of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the learned Amicus Curiae has made certain suggestions.
There does not seem to be any objection to this Court in accepting the Report of Shri Shekhar Singh that some modifications have been suggested. We therefore, in the first instance, accept the Report of Shri. Shekhar Singh. PA.
On a query being raised by us, Mr. Altaf Ahmed, learned Additional Solicitor General, appearing for The Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands on instructions informed the Court that there is no social forestry in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The wood which is being cut is from the natural forest and plantation of teak etc. has taken place in the forest, which had been worked and approximating 40,000 cubic metres of wood is cut from the forest annually for the purposes of the small mills the total logging of wood being approximately 1,30,000 cubic metres per year. In the last two years, this figure has come down but the fact remains that instead of resorting to social forestry and thereby providing employment to the people in growing forest at the present moment the natural forests are being cut and the timber sawn.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands is one of the hot spots and is in the eco-fragile area and has, therefore, the eco-diversity thereby has to be preserved. For this, it is essential that the natural forest is protected and re-generation allowed to take place.
We are also informed that the existing saw-mills have a subsisting licence valid till 30th March, 2003. The saw-mills and the other wood-based industries in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are not permitted to cut the trees and supplies to them are made only by the Government itself or through its Corporation. Some of these saw-mills and industries have logs of wood and sawn timber in their stock. It would therefore be iniquitous to deprive them of an opportunity to utilise the stock for which payment has been made to the Government for the purchase of wood. However, it is to be borne in mind that fresh logging of wood must cease immediately.
After taking all facts and circumstances into consideration, we issue the following directions:
(1) All felling of trees from the forest of little Andaman Islands, the national park and sanctuaries, the tribal reserves and all other areas shall stand suspended.
(2) For the areas in which there are working plans, the Government
through the Chief Secretary shall disclose on an affidavit -(i) The
extent of felling and re-generation permitted under these working
plans during the last 10 years.
(ii) The compliance with re-generation/re-planatation/ re-forestation
targets under the working plans and reasons if any for the
shortfall.
(3) The working plan of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands should be re-worked on the basis as was applied to the State of M.P. and others, namely that before any felling of trees, there should first be compulsory afforestation/re-generation, the felling permissions would be based upon the extent of re-generation of forest undertaken and not the other way round.
(4) No felling of tree (under the working plan or otherwise) shall be permitted for meeting any raw material requirements of the plywood, veneer, black board, match stick or any other wood-based industry.
(5) In drawing up the new working plans the Government shall formulate a Committee with one Ecologist who is proficient with the ecology of Andaman.
(6) The working plans so formulated shall be placed before this Court within a period of twleve weeks.
(7) The trees felled under the working plan in the manner indicated aforesaid should be utilised for the requirements of the local inhabitants.
(8) The licences of all the saw-mills and wood-based industries shall not be renewed after 31st March, 2003. This will not debar the authorities from cancelling licences in accordance with law, if there is no breach of the Licence Committee by the Licencees before that date.
(9) The ecology of the area does not permit any kind of industrial activity for which the wood is likely to be consumed. Therefore, licences of wood-based industries shall stand cancelled but they will be permitted to exhaust the existing stock till 31st March, 2003.
(10) The Union of India if it so adopts and thinks appropriate may take steps for re-locating the dislocated wood-based industries in the main land area anywhere in India as long as it is not within the vicinity of forest area. Henceforth for meeting the local requirements it is only the Government saw-mills which shall operate.
No fresh wood or logs shall be given to any of the saw-mills or the wood-based industries till fresh working plans are prepared and submitted to this Court and the approval obtained.
(11) With immediate effect, there will be no movement of logs or timber in any form including sawn timber from Andaman and Nicobar Islands to any part of India or anywhere else.
(12) Regularisation of encroachments on forest land in any form, including allotment/use of forest land for agricultural or horticultural purposes, shall be strictly prohibited.
(13) All those families who have been identified as having encroached on forest land prior to 1978 and have not yet shifted to their allotted rehabilitation sites, shall be given one month's notice to vacate their encroachments and shift to the allotted land. Failing this, their allotment shall be cancelled and they shall be forcibly evicted within three months of the deadline being over, without any further claim to land or any other form of rehabilitation. Such notices should be issued within six weeks.
(14) Similarly, those among the pre-1978 families that have shifted to their allotted sites but have occupied more land than they were entitled to shall also be given one month's notice to vacate the extra land occupied by them.
On the expiry of this notice period, the allotments of those who have not complied with this notice shall be cancelled and they should be forcibly evicted within three months, without any further claim to compensation or land. Such notices should be issued within six weeks.
(15) All post 1978 forest encroachments shall be completely removed within three months.
(16) For the eviction of encroachers, an effective action plan shall be prepared and implemented under direct supervision, monitoring and control of a Committee under the Chairmanship of the Lt. Governor with Chief Secretary, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and reputed NGO representatives, its members. The Chief Secreatary, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, shall file every month an affidavit about progress of eviction of encroachments.
(17) The process of issue of identity cards to all the residents shall be completed within a period of six months.
(18) The extraction of sand shall be phased out @ minimum 20% per year on reducing balance basis to bring the sand mining to the level of 33% of the present level of mining within a maximum period of 5 years.
(19) The approvals accorded by Ministry of Environment and Forests under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, shall be reviewed by a Committee consisting of Secretary, Environment and Forests, Director General of Forests and at least one non-official member of the Forest Advisory Committee constituted under the Forest (Conservation) Rules to restrict the approvals to the barest minimum needed to serve emergent public purposes. Felling of trees shall commence only after the process of compensatory afforestation has actually been undertaken on the ground. In future, the proposals shall be considered for approval only after detailed Environmental Impact Assessment has been carried out through an independent agency identified by Ministry of Environment and Forests.
(20) Specific actions shall be undertaken by Ministry of Environment and Forests/Andaman and Nicobar Islands Administration on the other recommendations of Shri Shekhar Singh Report which are not specifically dealt with in above orders. Ministry of Environment and forests and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Administration shall file an affidavit within three months giving details of action taken by them on each of such recommendations.
Copy of this order be sent by the Registry to the Chief Secretary, Andaman and Nicobar Islands for information and compliance.
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