1

ITEM NO.6 COURT NO.13 SECTION PIL-W

S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

Writ Petition(s)(Civil) No(s). 304/2018

ANAND ARYA Petitioner(s)

VERSUS

UNION OF INDIA Respondent(s)

(IA No. 131361/2018 - INTERVENTION APPLICATION)

WITH

W.P.(C) No. 230/2001 (PIL-W)

([Link].203606/2022 IN W.P.(C)NO.230/2001
IA No. 203606/2022 - INTERVENTION APPLICATION)

W.P.(C) No. 302/2020 (PIL-W)

(FOR impleading party ON IA 172736/2024
FOR INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT ON IA 172736/2024
FOR APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS ON IA 172737/2024
IA No. 172737/2024 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS
IA No. 172736/2024 - INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT)

Date : 11-12-2024 These matters were called on for hearing today.

CORAM : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SUDHANSHU DHULIA

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AHSANUDDIN AMANULLAH

For Petitioner(s) Mr. Gopal Sankaranarayan, Sr. Adv.

Ms. Trisha Chandran, Adv.
Mr. Naresh Kumar, AOR

Mr. Jayant Bhushan, Sr. Adv.

Ms. Reena George, Adv.
Mr. Rohit Kumar Singh, AOR
Mr. Amartya Bhushan, Adv.
Mr. Yojit Mehra, Adv.

Ms. Anitha Shenoy, Sr. Adv.

Ms. Shibani Ghosh, AOR
Ms. Ayushma Awasthi, Adv.
Signature Not Verified
Ms. Himanshi Gupta, Adv.
Digitally signed by
Jayant Kumar Arora
Date: 2024.12.17

For Respondent(s) Ms. Aishwarya Bhati, A.S.G.

[Link] IST
Reason:

Ms. Swarupma Chaturvedi, Sr. Adv.

Ms. Manisha Chava, Adv.
Mr. Gurmeet Singh Makker, AOR
 2

Mr. Bhuvan Mishra, Adv.

Mr. Aman Sharma, Adv.
Ms. Sunita Sharma, Adv.
Mr. Rohan Gupta, Adv.

Mr. P. V. Yogeswaran, AOR

Mr. Manish Kumar, AOR

Mr. Ravi Shanker Jha, Adv.

Mr. Kunal Verma, AOR

Ms. Sumita Hazarika, AOR

Mr. Shiv Sagar Tiwari, AOR

Mr. Shiv Mangal Sharma, A.A.G.

Mr. Manish Chaubey, Adv.
Mr. Milind Kumar, AOR

Mr. Anil Shrivastav, AOR

Mr. Ashok Kumar Singh, AOR

Mr. Guntur Pramod Kumar, AOR

Ms. Prerna Singh, Adv.
Mr. Samarth Krishan Luthra, Adv.
Mr. Dhruv Yadav, Adv.

Mr. Shuvodeep Roy, AOR

Mr. Deepayan Dutta, Adv.
Mr. Saurabh Tripathi, Adv.

Mr. Abhimanyu Tewari, AOR

Ms. Eliza Bar, Adv.

Mrs. Aishwarya Bhati, A.S.G.

Mrs. Swarupama Chaturvedi, Sr. Adv.
Mr. A K Panda, Adv.
Mr. Wasim Qadri, Sr. Adv.
Mrs. Ruchi Kohli, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Mukesh Kumar Maroria, AOR
Mr. Sunita Sharma, Adv.
Mr. Rohit Pandey, Adv.

Ms. Swati Ghildiyal, AOR

Mr. Prashant Bhagwati, Adv.
Ms. Devyani Bhatt, Adv.

Ms. Supriya Juneja, AOR

Mr. Anand Sharma, Adv.

Mr. Sandeep Jindal, AOR
Mr. Vishwanathan Iyer, Adv.
 3

Mr. Arman Sharma, Adv.

Mrs. Shimpy Sharma, Adv.
Ms. Pooja Sharma, Adv.
Mr. Yeshasvi Shrivastava, Adv.

Mr. Parth Awasthi, Adv.

Mr. Pashupathi Nath Razdan, AOR

Mr. V. N. Raghupathy, AOR

Mr. Nishe Rajen Shonker, AOR

Mrs. Anu K Joy, Adv.
Mr. Alim Anvar, Adv.

Mr. Sunny Choudhary, AOR

Mr. Abhimanyu Singh Ga, Adv.
Mr. Sarad Kumar Singhania Aor, Adv.
Ms. Rashmi Singhania, Adv.

Mr. Bharat Bagla, Adv.

Mr. Siddharth Dharmadhikari, Adv.
Mr. Aaditya Aniruddha Pande, AOR

Mr. Pukhrambam Ramesh Kumar, AOR

Mr. Karun Sharma, Adv.
Ms. Rajkumari Divyasana, Adv.

Mr. Avijit Mani Tripathi, AOR

Mr. Upendra Mishra, Adv.
Mr. P. S. Negi, Adv.
Mr. T.k. Nayak, Adv.

Mr. Anando Mukherjee, AOR

Mr. Shwetank Singh, Adv.

Ms. K. Enatoli Sema, AOR

Ms. Limayinla Jamir, Adv.
Mr. Amit Kumar Singh, Adv.
Ms. Chubalemla Chang, Adv.
Mr. Prang Newmai, Adv.

Mr. Gaurav Khanna, AOR

Ms. Natasha Sahrawat, Adv.
Mr. Rudraksh Pandey, Adv.
Mr. Gautam Barnwal, Adv.
Ms. Deepali Bhanot, Adv.
Ms. Alisha Roy, Adv.

Ms. Baani Khanna, AOR

Mr. Robin Singh, Adv.
Mr. Rohit Kumar, Adv.
Mr. Siddharth Mishra, Adv.
 4

Mr. Sameer Abhyankar, AOR

Mr. Rahul Kumar, Adv.
Mr. Aakash Thakur, Adv.
Mr. Aryan Srivastava, Adv.
Ms. Ayushi Bansal, Adv.
Mr. Sarthak Dora, Adv.

Ms. Purnima Krishna, AOR

Mr. M.f. Philip, Adv.
Mr. Karamveer Singh Yadav, Adv.

Mr. R. Ayyam Perumal, AOR

Ms. Garima Prashad, A.A.G.

Mr. Sudeep Kumar, AOR
Mr. Abhishek Saket, Adv.
Ms. Manisha, Adv.
Ms. Rupali, Adv.

Mr. Srisatya Mohanty, Adv.

Ms. Astha Sharma, AOR
Ms. Ripul Swati Kumari, Adv.

Ms. Aishwarya Bhati, A.S.G.

Ms. Swarupama Chaturvedi, Sr. Adv.
Mr. [Link] A. Qadri, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Ashok Kumar Panda, Sr. Adv.
Ms. Ruchi Kohli, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Varun Chugh, Adv.
Mr. Krishna Kant Dubey, Adv.
Mr. Bhuvan Kapoor, Adv.
Mr. Neeraj Kumar Sharma, Adv.
Ms. Indira Bhakar, Adv.
Ms. Sunita Sharma, Adv.
Mr. Gautam Kumar, Adv.
Mr. N Visakamurthy,aor, Adv.
Mr. Shreekant Neelappa Terdal, AOR

Mr. Aravindh S., AOR

Mr. Abbas B, Adv.
Mr. Aman Gautam, Adv.

Ms. Suveni Bhagat, AOR

Mr. Gopal Prasad, AOR

Ms. Srishti Agnihotri, AOR

Ms. Sanjana Grace Thomas, Adv.
Mr. [Link], Adv.
Ms. Tara Elizabeth Kurien, Adv.
 5

Mr. Shishir Pinaki, AOR

Mr. Dhanaeswar Gudapalli, Adv.
Ms. Mallika Das, Adv.
Mr. Nandi Kiran Kumar, Adv.

Mr. Akash Vashistha, Adv.

Mr. Rishi Sehgal, AOR
Mr. Midhun Aggarwal, Adv.
Ms. Vaishnavi, Adv.

UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following

O R D E R

Prior to 2017, the figures given by ISRO regarding the number of

wetlands in India having an area more than 2.25 Hectares was 2,01,503. The

latest ISRO data, which is of the year 2021, shows that this figure has now

increased to 2,31,195.

Now these figures have to be checked on ground. The Wetlands

(Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 (in short, “the Rules”) and the

guidelines issued thereunder prescribe that the next step after identification of

such wetlands is what is called Ground truthing, which is the term given to the

actual inspection of these wetlands by a team constituted by the State for that

purpose. This step has, however, been neglected by almost all the States,

except the State of Punjab to some extent. As regards demarcation of these

wetlands all States have done almost nothing up till now.

We have been informed at the Bar that each State presently has a

Wetland Authority. In fact, reading of Rule 5 suggests that the State Wetlands

Authority has already been constituted. Rule 5, by which the State Wetland

Authority as well as such Authorities in the Union Territories have been

 6

constituted and the powers to these Authorities have been given, reads as

under :-

“Wetland Authorities – (1) The Central

Government hereby constitutes the State
Wetlands Authority in each State with the
following members, namely ; -
XXXXX
(2) The Central Government hereby constitutes
the Union Territory Wetlands Authority for each
Union Territory with the following members,
namely -
XXXX
(3) The State Wetlands Authority or Union
Territory Wetlands Authority may co-opt other
members, not exceeding three in number, if
required.

(4) The State Wetlands Authority or Union

Territory Wetlands Authority shall exercise the
following powers and perform the following
functions, namely :-
a)Prepare a list of all wetlands of the State
or UT within three months from the dateof
publication of these rules;
b) Prepare a list of wetlands to be notified,
within six months from the date of
publication of these Rules, taking into
cognizance any existing list of wetlands
prepared/notified under other relevant State
 7

Acts;
c) Recommend identified wetlands, based
on their Brief Documents, for regulation
under these rules;
d) Prepare a comprehensive digital
inventory of all wetlands within one year
from the date of publication of these rules
and upload the same on a dedicated web
portal, to be developed by the Central
Government for the said purpose; the
inventory ought to be updated every ten
years;
e) Develop a comprehensive list of activities,
to be regulated and permitted within the
notified wetlands and their zone of
influence;
f) Recommend additions, if any, to the list of
prohibited activities for specific wetlands;
g) Define strategies for conservation and
wise use of wetlands within their jurisdiction;
wise use being a principle for managing
these ecosystems which incorporates
sustainable uses (such as capture fisheries
at subsistence level or harvest of aquatic
plants) as being compatible with
conservation, if ecosystem functions (such
as water storage, ground water recharge,
flood buffering) and values (such as
recreation and cultural) are maintained or
enhanced ;
 8

h) Review Integrated Management Plan for

each of the notified wetlands (including
trans-boundary wetlands in coordination
with Central Government), and within these
plans to consider continuation and support
to traditional uses of wetlands that are
harmonized with ecological character;
I) Recommend mechanisms for maintenance
of ecological character through promotional
activities for land within the boundary of
notified wetlands or wetlands complex have
private tenancy rights,;
j) Identify mechanisms for convergence of
implementation of the management plan
with the existing State/UT level development
plans and programmes;
k) Ensure enforcement of these rules and
other relevant Acts, rules and regulations
and on a half-yearly basis (June and
December of each calendar year) inform the
concerned State Government or UT
Administration or Central Government on
the status of such notified wetlands through
a reporting mechanism;
l) Coordinate implementation of Integrated
Management Plans based on wiseuse
principle through various line departments
and other concerned agencies;
 9

m) Function as a nodal authority for all

wetland – specific authorities within the
State or UT Administration;
n) Issue necessary directions for the
conservation and sustainable management
of wetlands to the respective implementing
agencies.
o) Undertake measures for enhancing
awareness within stakeholders and local
communities on values and functions of
wetlands; and
p) Advise on any other matter suo-motu, or
as referred by the State Government/UT
Administration.

(5) The concerned Department of the State

Government or Union Territory shall provide all
necessary support and act as nodal Department
and Secretariat to the Authority.

(6) The Authority shall, within ninety days of

publication of these rules, shall constitute -

(a) a technical committee to review brief

documents, management plans and advise on
any technical matter referred by the Wetland
Authority and
(b) a grievance committee consisting of four
members to provide a mechanism for hearing
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and forwarding the grievances raised by public to

the Authority;

(7) The Committees referred to in sub-rule (6)

shall meet at least once in every quarter to
perform their functions.
(8) The Authority shall meet at least thrice in a
year.
(9) The term of non-official members of the
Authority nominated by State Government or
Union Territory Administration, shall be for a
period not exceeding three years.”

It is clear now that the ground truthing and the demarcation of wetland

boundary is the next step, which is to be undertaken by each of the State/UT

Wetland Authorities in coordination with concerned nodal Department as

provided under the Rules. It is a Statutory function which has been assigned

to them under the Rules. We, therefore, direct each of the State/UT Wetland

Authorities to complete ground truthing as well as the demarcation of wetland

boundaries of each of the Wetland which have been identified for their State

by Space Application Center Atlas (SAC Atlas), 2021.

For easy accessibility of this, each of the State/UT Wetland Authorities

shall complete this work as expeditiously as possible, but definitely within a

period of three months from today. Ms. Aishwarya Bhati, learned Additional

Solicitor General, has assured this Court that they shall be doing the

monitoring with each of the State and shall file a detailed affidavit before the
 11

next date of listing.

Vide our order dated 03.04.2017 (in Writ Petition (C) No. 230 of 2001),

this Court has passed certain directions regarding protection of Ramsar

Convention Sites (of wetlands) to be monitored by each of the High Court

concerned and 15 High Courts were given such a direction. The relevant

portion of order dated 03.04.2017 is reproduced as under :-

“We have put it to learned counsel for the petitioner that

insofar as the Ramsar Convention sites are concerned,

since they are matters of international heritage, it might

be more appropriate if the concerned High Courts

monitor the management of these sites at least till there

is some visible improvement. Learned counsel for the

petitioner says that he has no objection to this.

Under the circumstances, we direct the Registry of this

Court to make photocopies of the affidavit filed by the

Union of India by Dr. A. Duraisamy, Scientist 'F' and

Member Secretary, Central Wetland Regulatory

Authority and send it to the following High Courts:High

Court of Judicature at Hyderabad for the States of

Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Gauhati High Court,

Gujarat High Court, Himachal Pradesh High Court, J&K

High Court, Kerala High Court, Madhya Pradesh High

 12

Court, Manipur High Court, Orissa High Court, Punjab

and Haryana High Court, Rajasthan High Court,

Madras High Court, Tripura High Court, Allahabad High

Court and High Court at Calcutta. The affidavit be sent

to the Registrar General of all the aforementioned High

Courts within two weeks from today. A copy of all the

orders passed by this Court from 10th September, 2014

till today shall also be sent to the concerned High

Courts along with the affidavit. We request Hon'ble the

Chief Justice of the concerned High Court to treat the

affidavit as a suo motu public interest petition and, if

necessary, appoint an amicus to assist the court so as

to ensure that the Ramsar Convention sites within their

jurisdiction are properly maintained. The affidavit by the

Union of India should be filed within six weeks. List the

matter on 12th July, 2017”

Now, the latest figure shows that these Ramsar sites have increased

from 26 to 85, including 59 additional sites (cited below) falling under 5 other

additional High Courts i.e. Patna, Bombay, Karnataka, Gauhati (Aizawl Bench

as well) and Uttarakhand. The list of updated RAMSAR sites has been given

to this Court, which is reproduced as under:-

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“List of 85 Ramsar Sites

Date of
Area
State/UT Wetland Designati
(hectares)
on
Andhra 19-08-
1. 1. Kolleru Lake 90100
Pradesh (1) 2002
19-08-
2. Assam (1) 2. Deepor Beel 4000
2002
21-07-
3. Kabartal Wetland 2620
2020
11-10-
3. Bihar (3) 4. Nagi Bird Sanctuary 206
2023
11-10-
5. Nakti Bird Sanctuary 333
2023
24-09-
6. Nalsarovar 12000
2012
05-04-
7. Wadhvana Wetland 630
2021
4. Gujarat (4)
Thol Lake Wildlife 05-04-
8. 699
Sanctuary 2021
13-04-
9. Khijadia Wildlife Sanctuary 512
2021
08-06-
8. Goa (1) 10. Nanda Lake 42
2022
25-05-
11. Sultanpur National Park 143
2021
9. Haryana (2)
Bhindawas Wildlife 25-05-
12. 412
Sanctuary 2021
19-08-
13. Pong Dam Lake 15662
2002
Himachal 08-11-
11. 14. Chandertal Wetland 49
Pradesh (3) 2005
08-11-
15. Renuka Wetland 20
2005
14. Jammu and 23-03-
16. Wular Lake 18900
Kashmir (5) 1990
08-11-
17. Surinsar-Mansar Lakes 350
2005
08-11-
18. Hokera Wetland 1375
2005
19. Hygam Wetland 08-06- 802
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Conservation Reserve 2022

Shallbugh Wetland 08-06-
20. 1675
Conservation Reserve 2022
Ranganathittu Bird 15-02-
21. 518
Sanctuary 2022
Ankasamudra Bird 10-03-
22. 98.76
Karnataka Conservation Reserve 2023
19.
(4) 14-02-
23. Aghanashini Estuary 4801
2023
Magadi Kere Conservation 14-02-
24. 54.38
Reserve 2023
19-08-
25. Asthamudi Wetland 6140
2002
19-08-
20. Kerala (3) 26. Sasthamkotta Lake 373
2002
19-08-
27. VembanadKol Wetland 151250
2002
17-11-
28. Tso Kar Wetland Complex 9577
2020
23. Ladakh (2)
19-08-
29. Tsomoriri Lake 12000
2002
19-08-
30. Bhoj Wetlands 3201
2002
07-01-
31. Sirpur Wetland 161
2022
25.
Madhya 07-01-
32. Sakhya Sagar 248
Pradesh (5) 2022
07-01-
33. Yashwant Sagar 823
2022
08-01-
34. Tawa Reservoir 20050
2024
21-06-
35. Nandur Madhameshwar 1437
2019
Maharashtr 22-07-
29. 36. Lonar Lake 427
a (3) 2020
13-04-
37. Thane Creek 6521
2022
23-03-
32. Manipur (1) 38. Loktak Lake 26600
1990
Mizoram 31-08-
33. 39. Pala Wetland 1850
(1) 2021
34. Odisha (6) 01-10-
40. Chilka Lake 116500
1981
19-08-
41. Bhitarkanika Mangroves 65000
2002
42. Satkosia Gorge 12-10- 98197
2021
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12-10-
43. Tampara Lake 300
2021
12-10-
44. Hirakud Reservoir 65400
2021
12-10-
45. Ansupa Lake 231
2021
23-03-
46. Harike Lake 4100
1990
22-01-
47. Kanjli Lake 183
2002
22-01-
48. Ropar Lake 1365
2002
40. Punjab (6)
26-09-
49. Beas Conservation Reserve 6429
2019
Keshopur - Miani 26-09-
50. 344
Community Reserve 2019
26-09-
51. Nangal Wildlife Sanctuary 116
2019
Keoladeo Ghana National
52. 1-10-1981 2873
Rajasthan Park
46.
(2) 23-03-
53. Sambhar Lake 24000
1990
48. Tamil Nadu Point Calimere Wildlife and 19-08-
54. 38500
(18) Bird Sanctuary 2002
Koonthankulam Bird 08-11-
55. 72
Sanctuary 2021
08-11-
56. Chitrangudi Bird Sanctuary 260
2021
08-04-
57. Karikili Bird Sanctuary 58
2022
08/04/202
58. Pichavaram Mangrove 1479
2
Pallikaranai Marsh Reserve 08-04-
59. 1248
Forest 2022
Gulf of Mannar Marine 08-04-
60. 52672
Biosphere Reserve 2022
Vembannur Wetland 08-04-
61. 20
Complex 2022
08-04-
62. Vellode Bird Sanctuary 77
2022
Udhayamarthandapuram 08-04-
63. 44
Bird Sanctuary 2022
Vedanthangal Bird 08-04-
64. 40
Sanctuary 2022
Suchindram Theroor 08-04-
65. 94
Wetland Complex 2022
66. Vaduvur Bird Sanctuary 08-04- 113
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2022
Kanjirankulam Bird 08-04-
67. 97
Sanctuary 2022
24-05-
68. Karaivetti Bird Sanctuary 453.72
2023
Longwood Shola Reserve 24-05-
69. 116.007
Forest 2023
16-01-
70. Nanjarayan Bird Sanctuary 125.865
2024
16-01-
71. Kazhuveli Bird Sanctuary 5151.6
2024
08-11-
62. Tripura (1) 72. Rudrasagar Lake 240
2005
08-11-
73. Upper Ganga River 26590
2005
19-09-
74. Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary 225
2019
02-12-
75. Parvati Arga Bird Sanctuary 722
2019
02-12-
76. Saman Bird Sanctuary 526
2019
03-10-
Uttar 77. Samaspur Bird Sanctuary 799
2019
63. Pradesh
26-09-
(10) 78. Sandi Bird Sanctuary 309
2019
19-09-
79. Sarsai NawarJheel 161
2019
21-08-
80. Sur Sarovar 431
2020
13-04-
81. Haiderpur Wetland 6908
2021
29-06-
82. Bakhira Wildlife Sanctuary 2894
2021
Uttarakhan 21-07-
73. 83. Asan Conservation Reserve 444
d (1) 2020
19-08-
84. East Calcutta Wetlands 12500
West 2002
74.
Bengal (2) 30-01-
85. Sunderbans Wetland 423000
2019
23 States & 13,58,068.
85 Ramsar Sites
UTs 335

The Registrar General of this Court is directed to send the complete list

to all the High Courts, including the 5 High Courts which are mentioned above,
 17

and the High Courts are requested to treat the affidavit as a Suo Moto Public

Interest Litigation where an Amicus be appointed, if necessary, to assist the

Court and ensure that the RAMSAR Sites within their jurisdiction are properly

maintained. We say this only as a continuation of our order dated 03.04.2017.

List the matter again on 25.03.2025.

(JAYANT KUMAR ARORA) (RENU BALA GAMBHIR)

ASST. REGISTRAR-CUM-PS COURT MASTER