SC seeks status on measures to protect GIB, says ‘conscious of need for development’

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that it was conscious of the need for development and honouring international commitments after the Centre and Rajasthan government objected to an order passed a year ago by the top court, directing overhead high voltage transmission lines in Gujarat and Rajasthan to be laid underground to save two endangered species of birds – Great Indian Bustard and Lesser Florican.

As the Rajasthan government argued that the Supreme Court order of April 19, 2021 was coming in the way of setting up new industries and transmission lines supporting international projects, a three-judge bench headed by justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud said, “We are conscious of the need for development and fulfilling international commitments.”

Attorney general KK Venugopal representing the Centre told the court that the order was not feasible as it was ridden with potential safety risks and high cost. He submitted that soon after the ruling to lay underground power cables, the government formed a study team drawing experts from various fields who gave a report on July 23 identifying various challenges including technical issues, right of way, safety and environment issues, and commercial factors.

Venugopal informed the court that if high tension wires are to be laid underground, such long wires required to be insulated which could not be easily procured. He stated that if these wires are joined together, at the joints there was possibility of leaks occurring which will lead to transmission losses. Further, he submitted that if the lines run beneath farmlands where water seeps through the ground, it could be a potential hazard.

Senior advocate Manish Singhvi representing the Rajasthan government said, “The main reason of extinction of the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) was predators preying on the eggs laid by these birds that require protective breeding. As a result of this court’s order, no development can take place and international projects which are to come up are put on hold.”

The two governments were also supported by associations of solar power generators and power developers in the region who said that the laying underground cable lines will require a cost to the tune of ₹55,000 crore.

The bench noted that in the order of April 19, it constituted a three-member expert committee to consider the feasibility of laying power cables underground. This panel comprised of Rahul Rawat of the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE), Sutirtha Dutta of Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and Devesh Gadhavi, deputy director of Corbett Foundation.

“For the present, it is necessary that the court is apprised of the work conducted by the committee as per the directions of this court. The committee shall file a status report in three weeks,” said the bench, also comprising justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian.

Additionally, the court asked the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat to indicate what steps it had taken to install bird diverters, laying power cables and ensuring that no new transmission lines are erected in the critical habitats of the two species of birds. This report too was directed to be filed in three weeks.

AG Venugopal pointed out that steps have been taken to preserve GIB.

“At the time when the order was passed there were 150 GIBs and today also, their number is same. We have added 16 more GIBs which are being bred in captivity.” He informed the court that these birds, being huge cannot see what is in front and this leads to collision with high tension wires, as a result of which they die. “More than 39,000 bird diverters have been installed to prevent bird collisions with the high-tension wires,” Venugopal added.

The bench agreed that the committee could be broad-based to examine the concerns expressed by Centre and other stakeholders. The court asked the AG and the petitioner in this case, wildlife expert MK Ranjitsinh to suggest experts drawn from various fields who could be included in the committee to make it “broad-based”.

Senior advocate Shyam Divan appearing for the petitioner informed the court that the arguments being put forth were considered before passing the landmark decision as all steps to declare GIB as endangered did not yield the desired result. He pointed out newspaper reports to indicate that despite the court’s direction, new transmission lines are being installed and this must be stopped immediately.

The GIB is listed as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in its Red List of threatened species. They are also protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

According to Wildlife Institute of India, the potential GIB habitat in Rajasthan and Gujarat extends aross 80,688 square kilometres, which includes approximately 13,550sqkm priority habitat area. A WII report recommended laying underground cables for 200 km of overhead power lines and installing bird diverters on all other power lines to make them prominent for GIB.

The area falling in GIB habitat covers heritage districts of Jaisalmer and Jodhpur and parts of Bikaner and Barmer. As this region is also crucial for the development of renewable energy, the state government and Centre felt that the laying underground power lines will prove to be counter-productive for the development of renewable energy sector in India.

“The MNRE is working towards achieving the target set by Government of India to install 1,75,000 MW (excluding large hydro) of renewable energy capacity by 2022 and further increase it to 4,50,000 MW by 2030,” the Centre stated in its application seeking modification of the April 19 judgment. Under the Paris Agreement, it further stated that India is committed to achieve about 40% cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.