Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Friday initiated a public interest litigation suo motu (on its own) for the conservation and preservation of wetlands in Maharashtra.

A division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar said it was initiating the plea based on a December 2024 order of the Supreme Court asking all HCs to initiate proceedings for protection of wetlands, also known as Ramsar Convention sites, across the country.

The HC issued notice to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF), Maharashtra government and the Maharashtra Wetlands Authority. It also appointed senior counsel Janak Dwarkadas as amicus curiae to assist the court.

The bench posted the matter for hearing on February 25.

Ramsar convention sites are wetlands designated as being of international importance. India is home to 85 such sites, three of which are in Maharashtra. These are the Lonar Lake in Buldhana district, Nandur Madhameshwar in Nashik district and Thane Creek.

It is named after Iran's Ramsar city, where the convention was signed in 1971.

In December 2024, the SC had noted in its order that, as per Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), India had 2,01,503 wetlands with an area of more than 2.25 hectares prior to 2017. As per ISRO, the number of wetlands had increased to 2,31,195 in 2021.

However, the SC observed that these figures "have to be checked on ground".

The apex court said Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 and the guidelines issued thereunder prescribe 'ground truthing', which is identification of wetlands through actual inspection.

The SC said this step has been "neglected by almost all the states" and the demarcation of these wetlands has not been done till now.

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