The court has requested a report from the committee by July (File)
New Delhi:
The Supreme Court recently appointed an expert committee to look into the conservation of the Great Indian Bustard, which is “non-negotiable” and “necessary for sustainable development in the context of fulfilling the country’s international obligations on the field of promoting renewable energy sources’. .
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra passed the order while hearing an issue related to the protection of the Great Indian Bustard (GIB).
The court has asked for a report from the committee by July and listed the case for the second week of August 2024.
“We believe that it will be appropriate if an expert committee is appointed to strike a balance between the need for the preservation of the GIB, which is non-negotiable, and the need for sustainable development, more in particularly in the context of meeting the country’s international obligations to promote renewable energy sources,” the court said in its March 21 order.
During the hearing, the Court underlined the importance of taking proactive measures to protect the GIB.
“There is no debate that the GIB as a species is critically endangered. At the same time, it emerged during the hearing that there is no adequate basis for imposing a blanket ban on the installation of transmission lines in an area of over 88,000 square kilometers,” the court order said.
The committee consists of the Director, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun; Hari Shankar Singh, Member of National Wildlife Council; Niranjan Kumar Vasu, former chief conservator of forests; B Majumdar, former Chief Wildlife Warden and Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Maharashtra; and Devesh Gadhavi, Deputy Director of The Corbett Foundation, among others.
The committee will determine the scope, feasibility and size of overhead and underground power lines in the area identified as priority area in the reports of the Wild Life Institute of India in the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat.
The committee will also examine the need to adopt conservation and protection measures for the GIB, as well as for other fauna specific to the topography and desert features, and identify the measures to be taken in the priority areas to ensure its survival. to guarantee the GIB in the long term. GIB.
The identification of suitable alternatives in the context of sustainable development will also be considered with regard to the construction of long future power lines, which will balance the protection of nature conservation and the protection of the Great Bustard, together with the construction of power lines on a sustainable way. manner that would facilitate India’s fulfillment of international obligations for the development of renewable energy sources.
“The order imposed in the order dated April 19, 2021 in respect of the area described as the potential area shall remain relaxed accordingly, provided that the expert committee appointed by this Court may determine appropriate parameters that reflect both the priority and potential areas,” the court said.
The Committee has the discretion to impose additional measures, both in relation to the priority and potential areas, as it deems appropriate, including considering the effectiveness and suitability of installing bird arresters on existing and future high-voltage lines, it clarified the court.
Earlier, a three-judge bench had directed the authorities concerned to convert the overhead cables into underground power lines.
The court’s order was based on a plea seeking protection of two species of birds, including the Great Indian Bustard.
According to the petition, it is stated that the presence of overhead power lines has become a hazard killing the said species of birds that collide.
According to the petitioners, overhead power lines pose the greatest threat to the survival of the GIBs.
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