BENGALURU: The High Court remitted the issue of declaring Hesaraghatta grasslands as Conservation Reserve under Section 36A of the Wild Life (Protection) Act to the Karnataka State Board for Wildlife (KSBWL) to take a decision afresh on the proposal submitted by the chief conservator of forests (CCF).
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice S Vishwajith Shetty disposed of two PILs by Vijay Nishanth and MR Seetharam and others. Quashing the KSBWL decision of January 19, 2021 to reject a proposal by the CCF, the court opined that the Board passed the order in a cavalier manner.
“The impugned order reflects non-application of mind. Since it is cryptic, the same cannot be sustained in the eye of law,” it observed. The CCF’s proposal had asked the Board to declare Hesaraghatta Grasslands Reserve as the area spreading across 5,010 acres is the only remaining grassland region in Bengaluru.
The Board rejected the proposal in response to the request of Yelahanka MLA SR Vishwanath, who was a special invitee at the meeting.