New Delhi, The Centre’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court it has constituted an expert panel for the identification of the sacred groves or Orans in Rajasthan.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih took on record the stand of the MoEF&CC secretary and said, “It is submitted that delay in implementing the orders passed by this court was not intentional but was caused due to procedural aspects. The affidavit states that now the committee has been constituted. The affidavit is taken on record.”
On December 18 last year, the top court recommended the Centre to create a comprehensive policy for governance and management of community-protected forests known as sacred groves.
The top court directed the compliance of the directions by the MoEF&CC and the state forest department through the constitution of a five-member panel preferably headed by a retired judge of the Rajasthan High Court.
On April 16, the MoEF&CC secretary was directed to remain present before court on April 29 and explain his reasons in a showcause for contempt over the non compliance of a January 16 order in which the state offered to constitute the expert panel.
On Tuesday, the bench accepted the apology tendered by the MoEF&CC secretary and closed the proceedings.
“We, however, request the committee appointed to complete the work of identification of Orans as expeditiously as possible,” it said.
The bench said the Rajasthan government would provide all necessary assistance to the committee.
In December, 2024, the top court said India was home to thousands of sacred groves, which were patches of forests or clusters of trees that held deep cultural or spiritual significance for the local communities that protected and sustained them.
Highlighting the ecological and cultural importance of the sacred groves, the apex court had recommended their protection under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, particularly through Section 36-C, which allows for declaration of “community reserves”.
The top court was acting on a plea raising concerns over the sacred groves in Rajasthan.
It directed the forest department of Rajasthan to carry out a detailed on-ground and satellite mapping of each sacred grove in the relevant area and classify them as “forests”, as recommended in the central empowered committee’s report of June 1, 2005.
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