Wildlife Protection, Forest Conservation, and the NGT notes — Unit 5

Before 1972, India's wildlife was being decimated by unregulated hunting, poaching for skins and ivory, and habitat destruction. The Wildlife (Protection) Act was a desperate measure to save India's rich biodiversity from extinction.

⇒The Schedule System

The heart of the Act is its Schedules (I to VI), which classify animals, birds, and plants, providing varying degrees of protection.

• Schedule I & Part II of Schedule II: Absolute protection. Highest penalties for violation. (e.g., Tiger, Elephant, Rhino, Snow Leopard).
• Schedule III & IV: Protected, but penalties are comparatively lower.
• Schedule V: Vermin (animals that can be hunted, e.g., common crows, fruit bats, mice).
• Schedule VI: Specified endemic plants whose cultivation and trade are prohibited.

The most famous and strictly enforced provision of the Act.

⇒The Blanket Ban

Section 9 explicitly states: "No person shall hunt any wild animal specified in Schedules I, II, III and IV except as provided under section 11 and section 12."

⇒Exceptions (Sec 11 & 12)

Hunting is permitted ONLY under very specific conditions, with written permission from the Chief Wildlife Warden:

• If an animal has become dangerous to human life or is so disabled/diseased as to be beyond recovery (e.g., a man-eating tiger).
• For the purpose of education, scientific research, or management (translocation).
• (Self-defense is a valid defense in court if you kill a wild animal attacking you, but the dead animal remains government property).

To protect wildlife, you must protect their habitat. The Act provides for the declaration of specific protected areas.

⇒1. Sanctuaries (Sec 18)

Declared by the State Govt in areas of adequate ecological significance. Certain rights of people living inside (like grazing) may be allowed by the Chief Wildlife Warden.

⇒2. National Parks (Sec 35)

A higher degree of protection than a Sanctuary. No human rights are allowed inside a National Park. Grazing of livestock is strictly prohibited. No person can destroy, exploit, or remove any wildlife from a National Park without permission from the National Board for Wildlife.

Poaching is driven by the illegal market for animal parts (ivory, tiger skins, rhino horns, shahtoosh shawls).

⇒Complete Prohibition

Chapter V-A totally prohibits trade or commerce in trophies, animal articles, or derived products from animals listed in Schedule I and Part II of Schedule II.

⇒Government Property (Sec 39)

Every wild animal (whether hunted legally or illegally, or found dead), animal article, trophy, or ivory imported into India, is the property of the State Government (or Central Govt if in a sanctuary/national park). You cannot "own" a tiger skin.

Before 1980, State Governments were rapidly cutting down massive tracts of reserved forests and converting them for agriculture, industries, and dams, leading to severe deforestation.

⇒The Central Check (Section 2)

This short but incredibly powerful Act stripped the State Governments of their power to destroy forests. Section 2 states that no State Government or other authority shall make any order directing:

• That any reserved forest shall cease to be reserved.
• That any forest land may be used for any non-forest purpose (like mining, clearing for cash crops, or building a factory).
• That any forest land may be assigned by way of lease to any private person/corporation.

Except with the prior approval of the Central Government.

A landmark Supreme Court judgment (T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union of India) completely reshaped forest law.

⇒Definition of 'Forest'

The State Governments were bypassing the Forest (Conservation) Act by arguing that certain wooded areas were not "officially notified" as forests in government records.

The Supreme Court clamped down on this, ruling that the word "forest" must be understood according to its dictionary meaning. The Act applies to ALL forests, irrespective of ownership or classification, and applies to any land recorded as forest in any government record.

(This brought millions of hectares of private and unclassified forests under the strict protection of the Central Government).

Sometimes, development is inevitable (e.g., laying a railway line through a forest). What happens when the Central Government grants approval to clear forest land?

⇒The CAMPA Mechanism

The user agency (the company building the railway) must pay for Compensatory Afforestation—they must provide equivalent non-forest land elsewhere and pay for planting trees on it to replace the lost forest.

They must also pay the Net Present Value (NPV) of the forest land diverted, which is a massive financial cost calculated to reflect the ecological services (oxygen, water retention) lost due to cutting the trees.

As environmental PILs flooded the Supreme Court and High Courts, the judiciary became overburdened. Cases dragged on for decades while forests were cleared. India needed a specialized environmental court.

⇒Creation of NGT

The NGT was established in 2010 for the effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests. (Making India only the third country in the world, after Australia and New Zealand, to have a dedicated green court).

Environmental issues are highly technical. A regular judge might not understand the chemical composition of effluents or the biodiversity of a wetland. The NGT solves this by combining law and science.

⇒The Bench

Every bench of the NGT must consist of at least one Judicial Member (a retired High Court or Supreme Court Judge) and one Expert Member (a scientist, technocrat, or administrator with at least 15 years of experience in environmental fields).

(This ensures that legal principles are applied with a deep understanding of ecological realities).

The NGT has immense power over civil environmental disputes.

⇒Original Jurisdiction (Sec 14)

The Tribunal has jurisdiction over all civil cases where a substantial question relating to the environment is involved, and such question arises out of the implementation of seven specific laws:

• The Water Act (1974) & Water Cess Act (1977)
• The Forest (Conservation) Act (1980)
• The Air Act (1981)
• The Environment (Protection) Act (1986)
• The Public Liability Insurance Act (1991)
• The Biological Diversity Act (2002)

(Note: The Wildlife Protection Act is explicitly EXCLUDED from NGT's jurisdiction; those poaching cases go to regular criminal courts).

⇒Appellate Jurisdiction (Sec 16)

If a State Pollution Control Board grants a Consent to Operate (CTO) to a polluting factory, or if the Ministry grants Environmental Clearance (EC) to a dam, a citizen can file an appeal directly in the NGT to get it cancelled.

⇒Relief, Compensation and Restitution (Sec 15)

The NGT can order:

• Relief and compensation to the victims of pollution.
• Restitution of property damaged.
• Restitution of the environment for such area/areas.

⇒Procedure (Sec 19)

The NGT is not bound by the procedure laid down under the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC), 1908, nor by the rules of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. It is guided by the principles of Natural Justice. This allows the NGT to function rapidly, often disposing of cases within 6 months.

⇒Application of International Principles (Sec 20)

The Act explicitly mandates that the Tribunal shall, while passing any order/decision, apply the principles of Sustainable Development, the Precautionary Principle, and the Polluter Pays Principle.

⇒Conservation and Adjudication

• Wildlife Act: Schedules determine protection level. Blanket ban on hunting (Sec 9) and trade in animal articles. Animals are state property.
• Forest Conservation Act: State Govts cannot divert forest land for non-forest purposes without Central Govt prior approval.
• Godavarman Case: Expanded 'forest' to dictionary meaning, covering all wooded areas regardless of ownership.
• NGT Act: Specialized fast-track court with Judicial and Expert members. Not bound by CPC. Applies Polluter Pays and Precautionary Principles.

⇒Premium Advice for Top Marks

• Wildlife Hunting: If asked about exceptions to the hunting ban, be precise. It is only allowed if the animal is a threat to human life or beyond recovery (disease), and ONLY with the Chief Wildlife Warden's written permission.
• Forest Conservation: The central theme of this Act is the shift of power. Emphasize that the 1980 Act took the power of forest diversion away from the States (who were exploiting it for revenue) and gave veto power to the Center.
• Why NGT? When writing a note on NGT, highlight two things: (1) The presence of 'Expert Members' which traditional courts lack, and (2) Section 19, which frees NGT from the slow, rigid rules of the CPC and Evidence Act, allowing for fast environmental justice.