THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
New Delhi, Oct 14: The Supreme Court has scheduled the hearing on the declaration of Saranda as a sanctuary for October 15. The case will be heard by a bench comprising Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran.
Earlier, the case was heard on October 8. During that hearing, after considering the arguments presented by the state government and SAIL, the court allowed the state to declare 31,468.25 hectares as a sanctuary instead of the originally proposed 57,519.41 hectares.
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The court also permitted SAIL and other valid iron ore leases to remain outside the sanctuary’s influence zone. The state government was directed to file an affidavit in court within a week regarding the declaration of the sanctuary.
The government argued that it intended to declare 31,468.25 hectares as a sanctuary in compliance with the NGT’s directives. However, mining is prohibited within a one-kilometer buffer zone around the sanctuary, which could affect SAIL and other valid leases.
Therefore, the court granted the state time to demarcate 31,468.25 hectares without impacting mining activities and instructed it to submit an affidavit on this matter at the next hearing.
