The Delhi High Court today sought the Centre's response on a PIL seeking formation of a committee of experts to review environment and wildlife protection laws in the wake of the recent culling of nilgai and elephants, which were declared as vermin by the government.
A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal issued notices to the Centre and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, seeking their replies within two weeks.
The court has fixed the matter for hearing on August 19.
The plea has sought a direction to the Centre to provide devices, developed by Indian Agricultural Research Institute, to farmers to keep away vermin including nilgai, elephants and wild boars, instead of killing them.
The plea, filed by Salek Chand Jain, said the Constitution says state shall endeavour to protect and improve environment to safeguard forest and wildlife and alleged that the National Board for Wildlife has failed to discharge its duties.
Referring to the recent culling of animals, the petition claimed over 500 nilgai and over 100 elephants were killed on the ground that they were posing threat to human and crops.
It alleged that following a 2015 notification of the Centre declaring Nilgai and wild boars as vermin in Bihar for a year, nearly 500 nilgai were killed in last six months by hunters "unscientifically".
"Wildlife activists are shocked and say Bihar's culling is unscientific and sets a bad precedent and will bring back the 'shikaar' (hunting) culture.
"Respondents (Centre and MoEF) are handing out licences to kill without surveying the problem. They need to understand local aspects of the problem before declaring animals as vermin across the country," it said.
The petitioner also appealed to the court to direct the
government to provide the device, called 'Harmony Q Series', to farmers so that they can use it to scare away animals and birds.
"The device can cover four acres and has to be installed at least one feet above the crop. It does not have any harmful effect on humans, animals and birds," it said.
The first notification issued by the Ministry, dated December 1, 2015, declared nilgai and wild boar as vermin in some districts of Bihar for one year.
The second notification, dated February 3 this year, declared wild boar as vermin in some districts of Uttarakhand for one year, while the third notification issued on May 24 declared rhesus macaque (monkey) as vermin in certain districts of Himachal Pradesh.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had asked the animal rights activist and NGOs, who had sought quashing of these three notifications of the Centre, to approach the High Court.
The apex court had said that High Court had jurisdiction to decide the issue.
