Nandankanan Zoological Park. (file picture)

Cuttack, Sept. 30: Orissa High Court today expressed its disinclination to pass any direction to the state government to acquire land within 1km of Nandankanan Zoological Park for creation of green belt around it.

The court expressed its unwillingness while disposing of a PIL filed nine years ago for the green belt to save Nandankanan from the threat of rapid urbanisation around it.

The division bench of Chief Justice V. Gopala Gowda and Justice B.N. Mohapatra said: “There cannot be any direction for acquisition of land in view of the affidavit filed by the director of Nandankanan Zoological Park.”

The affidavit said: “At present, there is no proposal from Nandankan Zoological Park to acquire the land within a 1km radius of the park for declaration of that area as a green belt.”

“For maintaining the ecological integrity of Nandankanan Sanctuary and also for safety of the wild and captive animals, it is essential that the present land use pattern within a 1km radius around Nandankanan remains unchanged,” said Sudarsan Panda, director of Nandankanan Zoological Park.

The bench, however, said: “If there is any infraction of any provisions of the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act and Environment Protection Act as alleged in the writ petition, the concerned authority is free to take necessary action.” The court further vacated the interim order issued nine years ago.

Zakir Khan, a 36-year-old resident of Bhubaneswar had filed the PIL. Acting on it, the high court had, on May 16, 2002, issued an interim order clamping a ban on any type of construction around the park and also ordered not to convert the status of the land within a 1km radius. All types of reclamation in the area were also banned.

Nearly six years later, Khan had followed up with a petition when unauthorised construction in the area allegedly continued unabated. Petitioner counsel Siba Narayan Panda had pressed for the green belt contending that conversion of farmlands and construction activities posed a threat to the ecology in and around Nandankanan, especially Kanjia Lake and other wetlands which are the third largest nesting grounds for migratory birds next to Chilika and Bhitarkanika. Acting on it, the high court had, in April 2008, appointed advocate Gautam Mishra as a one-man commission to make a detailed inquiry into it and submit a report.

Subsequently, the commission had submitted a report confirming violation of the ban order citing complaints lodged related to it by the Nandankanal Zoological Park authorities at Barang police station and photographic evidence on land reclamation work that was on in the prohibited zone. The report had stated that more than 30 FIRs had been lodged with the police and land reclamation work had been undertaken by contractors on the basis of a lease granted by the local Tehsildar.

Taking note of the report, the high court, on August 5, 2010, sought to know whether the state government was ready to acquire the land within 1km radius of Nandankanan for creation of a green belt. The director of Nandankanan Zoological Park filed the affidavit in response to it on November 2, 2010.