Oran ‘Sacred Groves’ of India are forest fragments of differing sizes that are traditionally found in the State of Rajasthan in India. These forests are considered divine and preserved by rural communities. These forest patches denote a spiritual and religious symbol of nature gods and goddesses, as believed by people of different faiths and religions across the Indian nation.
All ‘sacred groves’ in India to be termed as ‘forests’
The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India gave orders to the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to deal with the management and governance of sacred groves across the nation diligently. The Forest Department of Rajasthan has been directed by the Apex court, to create detailed on-ground mapping and satellite mapping of each sacred grove, such as Orans, Dev-vans, and Rundhs, or by any other name by which they are recognized in their respective surrounding area. The court also stated its decision of granting legal-environmental protection to sacred groves of Rajasthan, or Orans, by giving them the legal status of being ‘forests’ under the Forest Conservation Act.
A bench of Justice Bhushan R. Gavai, Justice SVN Bhatti, and Justice Sandeep Mehta lauded the efforts of Rajasthan’s Piplantri village for changing the course of history and for making the impossible possible. Piplantri Village is located in the Rajasthan desert area. The village was earlier witnessing widespread environmental damages due to excessive marble mining, which in turn led to acute water shortages, deforestation, and rapid economic decline.
Piplantri village meets with winds of change
As a result of environmental degradation and its hazards, the village headed by its sarpanch started the practice of planting 111 trees for every girl child born in the village. The bench noted that the Piplantri village model has risen up from various difficulties that it had been facing earlier by successfully planting 40 lakh trees by now, which has helped immensely in raising the water table by 800-900 feet and improved the climate by bringing down the atmospheric temperature about three to four degrees Celsius lower.
Piplantri village has now earned the distinction of having a higher female population ratio and has succeeded in fighting malpractices like female foeticide that still continue to be rampant in other parts of Rajasthan. The village is also making strides in the education of the girl child, which is all led by community-driven efforts and initiatives.
The Supreme Court of India pronounced that the ‘Orans,’ or the Sacred Groves, need to be granted protection under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, specifically through Section 36-C, which allows for the declaration of ‘community reserves.’ The Supreme Court bench has also carefully constituted a five-member committee that will be headed by a retired judge of the Rajasthan High Court, a retired chief conservator of forests, and senior officials, that will be responsible for recommending the inclusion of other desert ecosystems such as Dev-van and Rundh within the definition of ‘deemed forests.’.
