A division bench led by Chief Justice Indrajit Mahanty of Rajasthan High Court; took suo moto cognizance of the plight of death of migratory birds; around the Sambhar lake. On May 18, 2020, the Court ordered the State Government to remove carcasses of birds lying there; and conduct a post-mortem to identify the reason behind the deaths.
The bench also comprising of Justice Satish Kumar Sharma, directed the State to set up a “temporary nursery” near the lake area to take care of migrant and local birds; which is necessary for their revival and treatment. The court also sought a report on the State’s policy to prevent the unnatural death of migrant and local birds in Sambhar Lake areaย within 4 weeks.
In November last year, the National Green Tribunal had sought a factual and action report; on the issue of carcasses of 18000 migrated birds, found at Sambhar lake. The direction was given jointly to the National Wetland Authority, Government of India, State Wetland Authority, Rajasthan, Rajasthan State PCB and District Magistrate, Jaipur. Following which, the Tribunal was informed that the deaths were a consequence of the violation of environmental norms. Notably, in maintaining the ecosystem of the wetland including water quality, plant invasion in water bodies, etc.
