PIL filed in Supreme Court requesting prompt assistance from Centre, state govt in curbing Uttarakhand wildfires

New Delhi: A public interest litigation was filed in the Supreme Court on Thursday seeking urgent steps to protect forests, wildlife and birds from wildfires in Uttarakhand, saying forest blazes have increased over the years causing huge loss to the environment. The petition sought directions to the Centre, the Uttarakhand government and the principal Chief Conservator of Forests in the state to make pre-fire arrangements and frame policy to prevent forest fires. [caption id=“attachment_2786894” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The plea, filed by advocate Rituparn Uniyal, also sought investigation into the matter by an independent agency and directions to declare the animal kingdom as legal entities having a distinct persona with corresponding rights, duties and liabilities of a living person. Forest fires in Uttarakhand have been regular phenomenon. Every year forest fires in the state causes great loss to the forest ecosystem, the diversity of the flora and fauna and the economic wealth and is one of the major disasters there. The plea claimed, one of the prominent forest research centres was at Uttarakhand but the authorities have not consulted the institution for remedies to tackle wildfires. “Despite a consistent history of forest fires, the ignorance, inactiveness, negligence and unreadiness of the respondents (Centre, state government and chief conservator of forests) have rendered a great loss to forests, wildlife and birds in Uttarakhand and thus caused ecological imbalance,” it said. The plea states that, “Uttarakhand has one of the prominent forest research centres, that is, Forest Research Institute Deemed to be University, Dehradun. Surprisingly, the respondents have never consulted the institution for the reasons and solutions of devastating forest fires in the state. This clearly shows a lackadaisical approach of the respondents in tackling the forest fires.” The plea further states that forest and wildlife were the most important natural resources and played significant role in the human life and environment. “Forests are socially and environmentally inter-linked with the people in the hilly areas and play important role in the economic welfare and development of the region,” it said. The plea claimed that the concerned authorities have no clue as to how these fire took place and the ways to stop them which raised questions about the training received by the officials. The plea further said two national parks, Corbett National Park and Rajaji National Park, were under threat because of these forest fires. “One of the major fallouts of the wildfire was the generation of ‘black carbon’. It is created by the incomplete combustion of any bio-matter and fossil fuels, this ‘black carbon’ coats the Himalayan glaciers in the region and makes them attract more heat and melt faster causing floods in the plains,” it said. The plea added that destruction of grasslands and lack of fodder for the livestock in the area was another worry which has starting to haunt the locals and the villagers. “The loss of income from lack of tourism due to the forest fires was another pressing concern,” it pointed out. Seeking legal rights for animals, the petition said, ‘Life’ under the Constitution meant something more than mere survival or existence or instrumental value for human beings, but to lead a life with some intrinsic worth, honour or dignity. “All the animals have honour and dignity. Thus, in order to protect and promote greater welfare of animals including avian and aquatic, animals are required to be conferred with the status of legal entity or legal person,” it said.