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Apex court notice to Centre, Raje Govt.

Special Correspondent

Shooting range in forest area of Jaipur

JAIPUR: The Supreme Court has issued notices to the Union Government, the Rajasthan Government and the Jaipur Development Authority on the move to construct a shooting range in Sanganer tehsil of the Capital. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje had laid the foundation for the shooting range, being constructed by the Jaipur Development Authority for the Rajasthan Rifle Association, on the occasion of the completion of two years of her Government in office on December 8.

The Supreme Court action follows a writ petition from a group of lawyers led by Poonam Chand Bhandari, who has pointed out that the proposed shooting range is coming up partly on a river belt and partly on forest land. The Court has referred the matter to the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) seeking a report from it. "... The construction of a shooting range in the forest area is a non-forest activity and no prior approval of the Central Government has been obtained for the construction... ," the petition pointed out.

JDA had started construction on the shooting range, estimated to cost Rs.20 crores, last April with a target of completing it in one year, by the time the State Government celebrates completion of its third year in power. According to the petitioners, the trees in the area have been cut and a forest department boundary wall has been demolished already as a part of the levelling process. The petition, citing the Supreme Court rulings on the T.N.Godavarman Thirumulpad vs. Government of India case, has sought restraining of the State and JDA from going ahead with the construction. The land earmarked for the range on Khasra No.9 and Khasra No.14 in village Todi Ramzanipura in Sanganer tehsil cannot be used for the purpose as Khasra No.9 falls in the belt of the seasonal river Jhalana, while the latter is reserve forest area.

The petition has pointed out that the proposed land in Khasra 14 forms part of 117.87 bighas of land notified as forest land on November 21, 1961, under the Jaipur Forest Act, 1939, as well as under Section 20 of the Rajasthan Forest Act, 1953. The land marked under Khasra No.9, measuring 67 bighas, has been shown as river belt in the "Jamabandhi" (land records) with the Collectorate.

The petitioners point out that the JDA records show Khasra 9 as Khasra Nos. 85,86, 87,88, 88/321,89 and 89/348 though all these khasras, except Khasra No.85 and Khasra No.89 are recorded as river. Khasra No.85 is recorded as forest while Khasra No.89 is recorded as "banjar" (wasteland). Khasra No.14 (of the jamabandi) has been split into Khasra 134, which is recorded as a river and Khasra No.134/350, which is recorded as "banjar". "This has been done illegally and contrary to the record of the Collector, who keeps the record of the Forest land," notes Girdhari Singh Bafna, one of the advocates for the petitioner.

The writ notes that construction of a shooting range in the river belt violates the "Public Trust Doctrine" as formulated by the Supreme Court in the case of M.C.Mehta vs. Kamal Nath. The Jhalana river merges with the Dhund river, after which the Jaipur region got the name "Dhundad", it observes.

The petition has also drawn the Court's attention to the proposed Jhalana Eco Tourism Park in the Aravalli ranges in the area. "The area has panthers, peackcoks, jackals, patridges and a variety of other smaller forms of wild fauna. Pellets shot in the shooting range would prove hazardous to the animals while the deafening noise of pistol shooting would scare away the animals and birds," Mr.Bafna argues.

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