The Supreme Court today directed the State of Jharkhand to declare the Saranda/Sasangdaburu forests as a wildlife sanctuary and conservation reserve. The Court also assured that issuing such a declaration would not impinge on the forest rights of the tribals or forest dwellers in the region.

The bench of CJI BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran considered the issue of repeated non-compliance by the State of Jharkhand with its previous assurances given to issue the notification.

The Court, in its order, frowned upon the changing stance of the State Government over the proposed area to be notified as a conservation reserve. The State of Jharkhand had sought the permission of the Court to remove 126 'compartments' where mining was taking place from the total proposed area of 31,000 sqm.

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