New Delhi: The Supreme Court sought the responses of the Centre and others on Wednesday on a PIL highlighting elephant deaths due to electrocution.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) N V Ramana issued notices to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and other states.
"Issue notice on the writ petition as also on the application seeking directions, returnable in six weeks. Dasti service, in addition, is permitted.
"Liberty is also granted to serve the respective standing counsel for the Union of India and the state governments as mentioned in the writ petition," the bench, also comprising justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli, said.
The court was hearing a plea moved by Gurgaon resident Prerna Singh Bindra, seeking directions with immediate effect for the insulation of high-voltage power transmission lines passing through protected areas (wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, community reserves and conservation reserves), elephant reserves, the identified elephant corridors and known areas of elephant movement.
Read: 70 elephants killed in Assam this year; Only 24 due to natural causes
The plea, filed through advocate Abhikalp Pratap Singh, referred to the data tabled by the MoEF before Parliament, which shows that 333 out of the 510 elephant deaths related to conflict with humans between 2014-15 and 2018-19 were caused by electrocution or, in other words, nearly two-thirds of all unnatural elephant deaths were caused by electrocution.
More recent data submitted in the Lok Sabha by the MoEF shows that these numbers have been steadily increasing -- from 56 electrocution deaths in 2016-17 to 81 fatalities in 2018-19, it said.
"The sheer number of elephant deaths due to electrocution detailed hereinafter goes on to show the collective failure of the respondents in honouring the constitutional mandate of safeguarding the forests and wildlife of the country.
"The petitioners most respectfully submit that the problem of elephant deaths due to electrocution needs urgent intervention of this court, lest the consequences may prove to be disastrous for the environment and may precipitate the extinction of the Asian elephant," the plea said.
It also sought directions to the MoEF to effectively implement the relevant recommendations of the "Gajah" report of 2010.
The "Gajah" report published in 2010 laid down elaborate recommendations for improving the management of wild and captive elephants in India.
PTI
