Supreme Court Orders Nationwide Survey of Traditional
Elephant Corridors
Prelims:
Environment
& Ecology
Mains:
GS Paper II:
Judiciary and judicial interventions, GS Paper III: Conservation, environmental
degradation and biodiversity
Current relevance:
The
Supreme Court has directed the Union Government to conduct a fresh
nationwide survey of elephant corridors and take necessary measures to
ensure the free movement of wild elephant herds along their traditional
routes across States, holding that no State can obstruct or blockade these
pathways.
Highlights:
Key Directions of the
Supreme Court:
1.
The
Centre must conduct a fresh nationwide survey of traditional elephant
corridors and submit a comprehensive report.
2.
The
report should identify obstructions and impediments affecting elephant
movement and specify measures taken to address them.
3.
The
Court held that no State can block traditional elephant pathways, as
elephant movement is not confined to State boundaries.
4.
Construction
of obstacles or blockades in elephant corridors cannot be justified merely on
the ground of crop destruction or human–animal conflict.
Protection of Elephant
Corridors:
1.
Elephants
naturally travel across multiple States, making the protection of their
traditional routes an inter-State conservation issue.
2.
Human
habitations, local factors and physical barriers have obstructed or impeded
elephant corridors.
3.
The
Court stressed that blocking corridors is not an appropriate solution to
human–elephant conflict.
4.
It
called for solutions that preserve the free passage of wildlife while
addressing conflict through other measures.
Legal Protection &
Inter-State Movement:
1.
Elephants
are listed as Schedule I animals under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972
and receive strong legal protection.
2.
Their
natural movement demonstrates the importance of landscape-level conservation
beyond administrative boundaries.
3.
Examples
cited before the Court include elephant movement from Nepal through West
Bengal towards Jharkhand and other States, and movement from Haryana's
Yamunanagar region towards Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
4.
The
ruling therefore underscores the need for coordinated nationwide protection
of elephant corridors rather than State-specific barriers.
Ban on Harmful Practices:
1.
The Centre was directed to examine allegations regarding the use of fireballs,
fire-torches (mashaals) and spikes against wild elephants.
2.
In 2018, the Supreme Court had already prohibited the use of fireballs,
burning rods and spikes to drive away elephants, describing such practices
as “barbaric and illegal.”
3.
The government has also been asked to ensure implementation of this
prohibition against such measures used by ‘hula’ parties to drive
elephants away from crops and villages.
Source:
THE HINDU - https://www.pressreader.com/india/the-hindu-international-9bn2/20260818/281590952399001?srsltid=AfmBOopr66KHUGt4e9Rg2dUJXemxCDik2IKwd11Zn8JgFkqL8KJJ5ZP3