The 13th February Supreme Court of India order saw eviction notice to approximately 1.89 million tribal and forest-dwelling families. This order has been vociferously called unjust by more than 30 of India’s top ecoogists, who have demanded the immediate revoking of said order. They have called this decision ‘unjust’ to the tribal communities as well as against the interest of wildlife conservation of India. Some wildlife groups and retired forest officials filed a petition against the Forest Rights Act(FRA), responding to which the Spree Curt ordered the summary forcible eviction order of 1.89 tribal and forest-dwelling people. In a jointly issued statement, the ecologists and scientists said ” “We do not regard this order as pro-conservation. On the contrary, it is a real setback for conservation in India. We do not agree with the claim of the petitioners in this case that their positions represent the interests of conservation.”  This group of ecologists include wildlife biologists, scientists and conservationists from Nature Conservation Foundation(NCF), Aziz Premji University, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment(ATREE), Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Indian Statistical Institute, Indian Institute of Science, Madras Institute of Development Studies and several independent scientists and conservationists.

As reported by The Wire