With just a week left for declaring the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary as a tiger reserve, the Goa government is filing a petition in the Bombay High Court at Goa asking for more time, guided by legal advice given to it by the advocate general Devidas Pangam. Earlier even the Supreme Court had refused to grant a stay on the HC's directive. The state government was castigated by the High Court which mentioned that it cannot blink at the reality that often narrow political considerations would prevail over more significant national interests involved in protecting the tiger and its habitat. The HC had also directed that the state forest department should take urgent steps to ensure that there are no encroachments in the protected areas. Never has a more forceful and conclusive judgement been delivered by a judicial bench regarding wildlife conservation, the government has no option but to obey the court's orders. Why didn't the AG advise the government three months ago to appeal for a review? The sarkar dragging it's feet over legal injunctions from the highest judicial body in the land is tantamount to contempt of court.
