Lagatar24 Desk
Ranchi: The Jharkhand government has filed a review petition in the Supreme Court instead of directly implementing its November 13, 2025 order to notify the Saranda forest division as a wildlife sanctuary. The issue was raised in the Assembly after MLA Saryu Roy sought clarification on whether the state intended to declare the area as a sanctuary.
Review Petition Filed Instead of Immediate Implementation
In a written response to a starred question by the Jamshedpur (West) MLA, the state government informed the House that it had chosen to file a review petition before the Supreme Court rather than implement the order “as is.” However, the government did not specify the date on which the review petition was filed or whether it has been admitted by the apex court.
The Environment, Forest and Climate Change Department acknowledged that the Supreme Court had directed the state to notify 31,468.25 hectares (314.6825 sq km) of the Saranda forest division as the Saranda Wildlife Sanctuary within three months of its order dated November 13, 2025. Six compartments were excluded from this directive.
Deadline Lapsed Without Notification
The department admitted that the deadline to implement the Supreme Court’s directive expired on February 12, 2026. Despite this, no formal notification has yet been issued declaring the Saranda forest division as a wildlife sanctuary.
Background of the Case
The Supreme Court bench, headed by then Chief Justice BR Gavai, had ordered the state government to notify 31,468.25 hectares as a sanctuary. Of this, six compartments covering approximately 22 hectares were included in the mining zone under the Minimum Plan for Sustainable Mining (MPSM) notified in 2016. Effectively, around 29,200 hectares would fall under the proposed Saranda Wildlife Sanctuary. Notably, the 31,468.25-hectare area had originally been notified as the Saranda Game Sanctuary in 1968.
