The long-standing dispute between conservationists and the Government of Jharkhand seemed close to resolution when the Supreme Court, taking suo motu cognizance, directed the state to grant legal protection to the Saranda Forest. The Cabinet subsequently approved notifying 314.65 sq. km as the state’s 12th Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS) and endorsed a one-kilometre Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ). However, the final notification is still pending, with the government seeking to reduce the sanctuary area and failing to build confidence among tribal communities.
The Saranda Forest, spanning over 82,000 hectares in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district, was once one of India’s most pristine and ecologically rich forest regions. It is home to one of Asia’s largest contiguous Sal (Shorea robusta) forests and served as a crucial elephant corridor until the early 1990s. Even today, it remains the core area of the Singhbhum Elephant Reserve. The Indian Forest Service once used this area for officer training, underscoring its ecological significance. A recent study by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) documented impressive biodiversity, recording 79 plant species, 23 mammal species, 138 birds, 27 reptiles, and 32 butterfly species. However, WII’s 2016 report highlighted the severe impact of mining on local wildlife, particularly the abandonment of key elephant migration routes due to habitat destruction. The study recommended designating areas with over 30 per cent forest cover as ‘no-go zones’ to safeguard ecological integrity and prevent further degradation from mining and development.
Iron ore mining in the Saranda region began in 1906 to support iron and steel production, but it soon created a fundamental conflict between industrial growth and environmental conservation. Recognising this tension, the erstwhile Government of Bihar designated 31,468.25 hectares (314.68 sq. km) of the forest as the Saranda Game Sanctuary through Notification No. 1168F on February 16, 1968. This protection was incorporated into the Saranda Working Plan for 1975-76 to 1995-96. However, the notification later fell into abeyance and is now reportedly missing from state records, allowing unregulated iron ore extraction to intensify, especially in the early 21st century. As mining companies pushed deeper into the landscape, ecological degradation escalated sharply.
In 2001, the newly formed Jharkhand government declared the Singhbhum Elephant Reserve, with the entire Saranda Forest Division as its core, through Letter No. Vanyaprani-33/3640. Environmentalists criticized this approach, arguing that the area should instead be recognised as an ESZ around the original 1968 sanctuary area. Responding to concerns, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in July 2022 directed the state to consider notifying the region as a sanctuary but no action was taken on the NGT’s verdict. Concerned by this continued reluctance of the Jharkhand government to grant Saranda the protection it requires, conservationists approached the Supreme Court through an Interlocutory Application under the landmark TN Godavarman v. Union of India case, seeking long-overdue legal recognition for the forest.
The Supreme Court, after reviewing the Interlocutory Applications, admitted the matter and sought an affidavit from the Jharkhand government explaining its failure to act on the NGT’s 12 July 2022 directions. In its order dated 20 November 2024, the court noted the state’s lack of seriousness in complying with the NGT’s mandate. Subsequently, on 8 October 2025, it directed the state to notify 413.68 sq. km of the Saranda region as a Wildlife Sanctuary. In the same judgment, the court also considered the representations made by the state government and the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL). After due deliberation, it permitted the state to notify 31,468.25 hectares of forest land as the sanctuary — an area notably smaller than the one originally proposed. Additionally, the court recognised the Sasangdaburu Conservation Reserve as a protected area, thereby extending further ecological safeguards within the Saranda landscape.
After years of advocacy, conservationists had hoped Saranda would finally gain legal protection as a Wildlife Sanctuary to safeguard its habitats and ecological corridors. However, progress stalled when the Jharkhand government sought to reduce the proposed area from 314 sq km to 249 sq km, aiming to exclude forest patches inhabited by tribal communities to protect their rights and enable infrastructural development activities. In its 13 November 2025 judgment, the Supreme Court ordered the proposed sanctuary area to remain at 314 sq km and directed the state to notify 126 compartments (excluding six) as per the 1968 notification, granting three months for final WLS notification. Meanwhile, tribal groups have protested the proposal, expressing concern that sanctuary status could affect their traditional rights over water, forest, and land, potentially delaying protection efforts. Earlier, a study done by WII had classified the Saranda Forest into mining, non-mining, and conservation zones based on habitat characteristics and the migratory routes of elephants and other fauna. The study strongly recommended granting Saranda immediate protection to ensure the long-term well-being of its biodiversity.
Effective elephant conservation requires a landscape-level perspective that goes beyond protected area boundaries to include multiple-use forests, plantations, and critical wildlife corridors. Since elephants have wide home ranges that span several administrative units, reducing the extent of protected areas by prioritizing other factors is ecologically unsound. Conservation biology, particularly the SLOSS debate (“Single Large or Several Small”), underscores that a single large, contiguous habitat provides stronger conservation outcomes than several smaller, fragmented patches. Larger areas sustain richer biodiversity, stable populations, and intact ecosystems. Therefore, safeguarding the Saranda landscape is vital for maintaining remaining wildlife habitats and natural movement corridors. It would be erroneous to label Saranda as an “empty forest,” as it harbours a rich diversity of faunal species. The Asian elephant, in particular, frequently traverses this region, utilising multiple corridors that facilitate its dispersal between Jharkhand and adjoining states.
Secondly, the concern among local communities that the declaration of Saranda as a WLS would abolish their traditional rights over the forest is largely misconceived. The Supreme Court also clarified in its recent judgment that notifying the 314 sq km area will not infringe upon the individual or community rights of tribal populations. It is therefore imperative for the state government to adopt an inclusive and collaborative approach, engaging all stakeholders in confidence, and to expedite the notification of Saranda as a WLS within the permitted three-month period to ensure both ecological preservation and community participation in sustainable management.
Dipak Anand is a master's alumnus of the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun
G V Gopi is a Senior Scientist with the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun
Syed Ainul Hussain is a scientist (retired) at the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun
Views expressed are the authors’ own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth