Supreme Court orders nationwide survey of elephant corridors

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Centre to conduct a fresh nationwide survey of elephant corridors and ensure that no state blocks the traditional pathways of wild elephants. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana said blockading corridors is not a solution to human-animal conflict. The court also reiterated its 2018 ban on using fireballs, mashaals (fire-torches), and spikes to chase elephants, calling such practices barbaric and illegal.

The court was hearing a plea by advocate Shibani Ghosh, who submitted that fireballs continue to be used in West Bengal despite the earlier ban. Justice Bagchi noted that the practice is prevalent in West Bengal because elephants come from Nepal and travel through the state to Jharkhand. Chief Justice Kant observed that elephants in Haryana's Yamuna Nagar travel to Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. The court gave the Centre six to eight weeks to file a status report.