Look Into MoEF Report; Suggest Ways To Monitor And Improve Forest Cover: SC To Amicus Curiae Harish Salve

The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, directed Amicus Curiae Harish Salve to look into the status report filed by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.

“While considering the status report, learned Amicus should also give some suggestions on how to monitor the forest cover and to increase it, if that is possible,” it further ordered.

The Bench comprising Justice M.B. Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta also directed Mr. Salve to inform the Court about the status of funds that have been collected under various heads as a result of the proceedings.

The order was issued on an Interlocutory Application in a Petition filed by T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad, a member of the princely Nilambur Kovilakam family in the Malabar region of Kerala, who had passed away in June last year. Mr. Thirumulpad had, in 1995, initiated what turned out to be a landmark intervention by the Supreme Court to protect India’s forests.

While the initial Petition highlighted Mr. Thirumulpad’s concerns regarding destruction of pristine wooded areas in Gudalur in the Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, more than a thousand Interlocutory Applications have been filed since, covering a spectrum of issues concerning forest protection, such as mining, tree-felling, management of Protected Areas and forest encroachment.