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SC notice to Punjab govt, UT over Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary
The plea comes after the Punjab department of forest and wildlife protection moved a proposal to the state cabinet to declare a 3-kilometre area around Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary as an eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) before sending it to the central government for notification
Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Punjab government, Chandigarh administration and Union government on a plea by one Tarsem Lal, a resident of Nada village against the 1998 notification regarding the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary on land which the petitioner claims belongs to Punjab.
The top court has sought a reply by December 11, the next date of hearing.
The plea comes after the Punjab department of forest and wildlife protection moved a proposal to the state cabinet to declare a 3-kilometre area around Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary as an eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) before sending it to the central government for notification.
Such a move could affect around 2 lakh residents of Kansal, Karoran and Nada — areas under the Nayagaon municipal committee in Mohali district. On the Haryana side, an area ranging from 1 km to 2.035 km around the sanctuary has been demarcated, as notified by the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) on November 11, 2024.
As per Supreme Court directives, permanent structures cannot be constructed within an ESZ for any purpose. Moreover, no commercial construction is allowed within a 0.5 km radius outside the ESZ. In the range of 0.5 km to 1.25 km, construction of low-density and low-rise buildings up to 15 feet is permissible. Beyond 1.25 km, new building construction, including houses, is allowed.
In his plea, the applicant challenged the UT’s 1998 notification and claimed that UT had no legal right to declare the land belonging to Punjab as a sanctuary.
As per Lal’s plea, 2,155.81 acres of land was given by the Punjab government to the Union government and Chandigarh was for the specific purpose of soil conservation around the lake, thus UT could not have declared it a sanctuary as the Punjab government still owned the land.
The Chandigarh administration has been pressing for a declaration of ESZ near the Sukhna Lake, a move being opposed by residents of Punjab territory near the water body.
“The UT Chandigarh has illegally and forcibly grabbed 2298 acres of land in Punjab. Punjab owns this piece of land and thus UT couldn’t have declared it as a sanctuary. To set matters straight, the Punjab government should immediately stake the claim and take possession of its prime area”, Lal said in his petition.
As per the Wildlife Act 1972, wildlife sanctuary can be declared only under Indian Forest Act 1927 on the land that’s owned by the government.
The plea further said that as per the Land Acquisition Act 1894, the land acquired for a particular purpose has to be used for that purpose only. The aforesaid land was acquired for soil conservation and declaring it forest is illegal.
Nayagaon Ghar Bachao Manch chief and Punjab Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vineet Joshi said that the Punjab government should immediately take possession of the land from the UT.
Joshi said it was surprising that the Punjab government wants to declare 3km as ESZ instead of 100m, which was sufficient for a Category D wildlife sanctuary like Sukhna, as authenticated by the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun.
Despite several attempts, forest minister Lal Chand Kattaruchak could not be contacted for comments. However, state forest department officials, pleading anonymity, said that after the government has been apprised of the status of the land and that it belongs to Punjab.
“We have sounded the government over the land’s status and now we are waiting for further instructions,” the official said.
