Sacred Groves: Supreme Court Order on Rajasthan Forests

Why in the news

The Supreme Court, on 18 December 2024, asked the Rajasthan Forest Department to identify sacred groves, treat them as forests and notify them as community reserves under the Wildlife Protection Act (WLPA) 1972. Critics say this cuts across the Forest Rights Act (FRA) 2006, which aimed to hand forest management to gram sabhas.

Key facts

• Rajasthan: about six lakh hectares in 25,000 sites.
• Order: classify as forests and notify as community reserves.
• FRA 2006 places sacred groves under Community Forest Resources, with gram sabhas responsible for managing them.
• Some groves are over 5,000 years old.

About sacred groves

• Small forest patches protected by communities for cultural or religious reasons, often near temples, shrines or graveyards, guarded by customs and taboos.
• Biodiversity hotspots, holding rare plants, medicinal herbs and water sources; they aid soil conservation and soften floods and landslides.
• Normally inviolable; extraction is barred except a few medicinal uses.
• Run through customary laws handed down the generations.

Regional names

Community reserves

• Areas of cultural value where locals voluntarily conserve habitat.
• Residents help stop illegal activity and assist authorities.
• Management needs the nod of a reserve management committee of local members; land-use change also needs state government approval.

Concerns

• FRA recognises customary rights, letting gram sabhas run groves without Forest Department involvement.
• Notifying them as reserves could weaken traditional governance and clash with local practice.

Exam angle

• Laws involved: WLPA 1972 and FRA 2006.
• Related terms: community reserve, Community Forest Resources, gram sabha.
• Kerala name: Kavu; Meghalaya: Law Kyntang.