The Supreme Court on Wednesday gave the Jharkhand government a week’s time to take a final decision on declaring the ecologically rich Saranda forest region in West Singhbhum district a wildlife sanctuary, cautioning that it may itself issue a writ of mandamus if the state fails to act.

A Bench led by Chief Justice B.R. Gavai made it clear that it was “not interested in sending anybody to jail,” but the state must comply with its long-pending directions. The court has posted the matter for further consideration on October 15.

The case concerns a proposal to notify Saranda and Sasangdaburu forest areas as a wildlife sanctuary and conservation reserve, respectively. The original proposal, dating back several years, sought to declare 31,468.25 hectares as sanctuary land. Subsequently, Jhark

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