HC Relief To Odisha Govt On NGT Order On Elephant Corridors

Cuttack: In a relief to Odisha government, the Orissa High Court on Friday issued an interim stay on the NGT’s order on elephant corridors in the state.

Accepting a writ petition filed by the government, the High Court issued the stay on the order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) issued on April 6. The NGT had directed the government to issue a notification for construction of 14 elephant corridors in the state within a month.

The court has also stayed another case on the matter and issued notice to the Wildlife Society of India and Ministry of Forests, Environment and Climate Change. A division bench of the high court comprising Chief Justice S Muralidhar and Justice Gourishankar Satapathy would hear the combined case on May 9.

It may be noted that the Wildlife Society of India had moved the NGT in 2016 seeking its intervention in construction of elephant corridors. Hearing the petition, the NGT, in an order on August 17, 2021, had directed the state government to notify the construction of elephant corridors at 14 different locations as identified by Asian Nature Conservation Foundation (ANCF).

As the government did not initiate any step, the NGT heard the matter again on April 6 and decried the inaction of the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF). The Tribunal also issued another direction to the government to abide by its order to abide by its order issued on August 17, 2021 within a month.