Gujarat High Court slams Forest and Railway officials for 'baby steps' in curbing lion deaths

The Gujarat High Court recently pulled up the State's Forest Department and the authorities of the Western Railways for their failure to take prompt action to ensure there are zero accidental deaths of lions at the Gir Wildlife Sanctuary..The State Forest Department has a duty to ensure that no animal in the Gir sanctuary is harmed by outside elements, the Court warned. The Court had earlier flagged concern over lions being accidentally killed at a nearby railway crossing due to accidental collisions with trains. Last Tuesday, a bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Aniruddha Mayee criticised the seemingly slow response of the Forest and Railways officials in tackling such lion deaths, particularly since two lions were found dead near railway tracks in January this year. "If you did any enquiry, why you did not find any solution earlier? This means there was no application of mind. You always need some interference from the court or some sword hanging over your head. We are not Darogaji (police officers). Do not make us Daroga for this. This is not done and not acceptable at all," the Chief Justice said. .During the hearing, the Court was told by Additional Advocate General (AAG) Manisha Luvkumar-Shah that barricades near railway tracks, that were broken at various places, have now been repaired."This work was going on for some time so it would be wrong to say that the repairs have been done only after this court's order," AAG Luvkumar-Shah added.However, the bench slammed the Forest Department for only taking baby steps, that too after the Court intervened."Why do you need court's intervention always to put your house in order? You should not need a court order always but you can work on your own without even a word from us," Chief Justice Agarwal said..On Tuesday, the Court was also informed that the Railways and the State Forest Department had held a joint meeting and resolved to limit the speed of trains moving near the forest areas to 30 kilometers per hour. It was further proposed that no trains would ply at night time, when the lions usually move around, the Court was told. Meanwhile, Chief Justice Agarwal noted the Supreme Court had recently highlighted that the right to life includes right to have a clean environment. "This also includes the protection of the wildlife. So now this PIL has raised to another level," the Chief Justice said..Notably, the bench had earlier refused to accept an explanation by the Railways that most of the lions that died due to train accidents met their untimely demise while chasing prey. .The Court on Tuesday reiterated concerns that the authorities were not being proactive in trying to curb lion deaths. "From January to April you did nothing. We were going to take suo motu cognizance of this issue but we learnt that a petition is already pending. So, we searched for this petition copy and then got this matter listed last month. Now, please do not show us these baby steps, just to give a picture to the court that we are doing something," the Chief Justice remarked.The Court added that it was inclined to pull up the Forest and Railway officials who kept mum on the lion deaths that took place in January due to train collisions. "What have you done to know the cause of the accident? At least you should first ascertain the cause to then take remedial measures. Neither the forest department nor the Railways have sit together and considered this aspect. We won't praise you for installing trackers or the watch towers," the bench opined..In its order, the Court made a note of the complete silence in the affidavit submitted by the Deputy Conservator of Forest about any steps taken to find out the cause of the two lion deaths in January. "It is asserted that from the period April 2023 to February 2024, a total of 1,014 untoward incidents that may have caused deaths of lions have been avoided. However, there is no whisper in the affidavit about any enquiry has been made at the ends of the Forest Department to find out the cause of the death of two lions on railway tracks in the month of January 2024 itself," the bench recorded in the April 9 order..This aspect must now be answered by the Chief Conservator of forest and the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of the Western Railways by filing personal affidavits, the Court ordered..Before adjourning the hearing, the Chief Justice Agarwal also remarked that the matter should not be reduced to blame games. "Lions are like your children.. if your child goes out and meets an accident will you not enquire how the accident took place?" the Chief Justice asked..The matter will be heard next on April 23. .[Read Order]