The High Court on Tuesday directed the Chief Wildlife Warden to inform the court within two weeks about necessary measures taken for restoration of the Hirpora Wildlife Sanctuary in Shopian district, failing which he would have to remain present before the court.
A division bench of Justice Ali Muhammad Magrey and Justice Sanjeev Kumar directed state’s senior additional advocate general BA Dar to file the status report in keeping with the order passed on October 17.
In terms of an earlier order the court had directed both the petitioner as well as the Chief Wildlife Warden to suggest the measures necessary to ensure restoration of the sanctuary.
A Public Interest Litigation was filed in the High Court last year, stating the sanctuary has suffered huge loss due to the 4000 KV D/C power project as illegal blasting is being carried out in the area.
“The power project has immensely affected the fauna and flora of the area. Hirpora Sanctuary is a fragile ecosystem which is bound to be damaged in the name of development in the area,” the PIL said.
The sanctuary, the PIL said, is home to Himalayan Brown Bear, Himalayan Black Bear, Musk Deer, Leopard, Tibetan Wolf, Himalayan Palm Civet and around 50 individuals of the critically endangered PirPanjalMarkhor, besides 130 bird species.
According to the petition the Sterlite Power and its contractors Tata Projects have been assigned the project of laying 400 KV D/C Samba-Amargah line to provide power supply in Akhnoor, Rajouri, Poonch and Shopian.”To avoid damage to the flora and fauna, the company had to lay the power line and erect towers in the wildlife sanctuary manually to avoid damaging flora and fauna of the area.”
The petitioner pleaded that the company had to pay a penalty of Rs 2.47 crore on the basis of the estimation by a panel constituted by the government but it has not paid any fine.
The petitioner pleads that according to survey conducted by Wildlife Trust of India, the population of endangered PirPanjalMarkhor has declined from 70 in 2003-2004 to 35 in 2013-2014. “The 341 sq km sanctuary which is already under stress with the construction of Mughal Road has led to severe decline in the population of Markhor,” he said. The PIL seeks immediate steps for the conservation and preservation of Hirpora Sanctuary from illegal and unlawful blasting and heavy machinery.