By Manoj Kumar Ojha
Doomdooma (Assam): Paving the way to translocate four wild buffaloes from Assam, Chhattisgarh high court has lifted ban, imposed due to genetic disparity between wild buffaloes of Chhattisgarh and Assam, with certain conditions such as collection of ecological suitability report before their translocation and releasing them in forests within 45 days from the date of their arrival.
The division bench of the high court comprising chief justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Sanjay K Agrawal passed this judgment on the basis of a report of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) giving clearance on genetic disparity of wild buffaloes of Assam and Chhattisgarh.
The court said that the state government has brought into notice the letter issued by the government of Assam on March 14, 2023 by which permission has been granted to capture four sub-adult female wild buffaloes in Manas National Park and translocate to Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary, Chhattisgarh subject to certain conditions mentioned there in.
Chhattisgarh forest department had in April 2020 translocated two sub-adult wild buffaloes – one male and one female – from Manas Tiger Reserve to Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary.
But the permission was given by the Government of India and Chhattisgarh government to the forest department to bring these buffaloes was granted on condition of releasing them into jungles.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) had asked for a report whether the forests of Chhattisgarh are ecologically suitable for the wild buffaloes of Assam from the authorities of the Assam Forest Department.
The Chhattisgarh Forest Department had made a plan to cage the wild buffalo brought from Assam in the enclosure for cross-breeding in the forests of Udanti Sitanadi Sanctuary.
Nitin Singhvi of Raipur filed public interest litigation in the High Court in 2022 on the issue of keeping the wild buffaloes of Assam in captivity for life and the report of the WII that there is genetic disparity between the forest buffaloes of Assam and Chhattisgarh, and the ecologically suitable report has not been given to the NTCA.
The Chhattisgarh forest department team on March 5, 2023 visited Assam to bring four more wild buffaloes to the state despite the petition being pending in the court. The petitioner submitted to the court that the WII had reported the genetic disparity between the wild buffaloes of Assam and Chhattisgarh.
Before bringing them, according to the order of the NTCA, it should be examined if the forests of Chhattisgarh were ecologically suitable for the wild buffaloes of Assam. On this, the court had banned the translocation of wild buffaloes till further orders.
Meanwhile, in the hearing held on April 10, 2023, the Chhattisgarh forest department informed the court about the fresh report of the WII and the conditional permission given to the forest department by the Assam government.
According to the report, the wild buffaloes of Assam can be used for a breeding program in Chhattisgarh.
Certain conditions have been added to the permission of the government of Assam, which has been presented by the Chhattisgarh forest department before the court.
The conditions are wild buffaloes brought from Assam can be kept in the enclosure only for a maximum of 45 days, after which they will have to be released in the forest, Government of India’s earlier permission to translocate wild buffalo will be followed.
It is noteworthy that the Government of India has ordered to translocate wild buffaloes from Assam and release them in the suitable habitat of Chhattisgarh and not to keep them captive for life.
Forest buffaloes can be brought from Assam to Chhattisgarh only after the NTCA gives a report regarding the ecological suitability of the forest buffaloes of Assam in Chhattisgarh.
The court has dismissed the petition in view of the fresh report of the WII and the conditional permission given by the Assam government.