Supreme Court to hear Saranda Sanctuary case on Oct 27

Ranchi: The Supreme Court will hear the Saranda Sanctuary case on October 27 before a bench comprising Chief Justice B. R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran. During the hearing, the court will consider the affidavit filed by the Jharkhand government regarding the declaration of Saranda as a sanctuary.

The previous hearing took place on October 17, when the state government, in compliance with the court’s earlier direction, submitted an affidavit giving an undertaking to declare Saranda as a sanctuary. The affidavit also requested that mining areas, valid leases, and residential settlements within the proposed sanctuary limits be kept outside the impact zone.

Notably, during the hearing on October 8, the court had allowed the state government to notify 31,468.25 hectares as a sanctuary in place of the originally proposed 57,519.41 hectares. The court had also directed that the mining areas of SAIL and other valid leaseholders be excluded from the sanctuary’s purview.

Earlier, the state government had sought a week’s time to file the affidavit in compliance with the court’s order. The matter was then listed for October 14, but the government requested an additional day. The court granted the request and fixed the hearing for October 17. On that date, the state filed its affidavit, though the court decided to examine it later. Accordingly, the next hearing has now been scheduled for October 27.