Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Protected area / relocation · India · 2008

India's Supreme Court ordered evictions of about 1.18 million families, then stayed them

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
What the record lacks: 1 none on record · 1 insufficient · 1 not measured See the gaps

India's Supreme Court ordered the eviction of forest-dwelling families in a case brought by conservation groups, then stayed its own order in February 2019. The case appears unresolved, and the sources reviewed do not say what happened to the families.

What?
India's Supreme Court ordered forest dwellers evicted in a case brought by conservation groups, then stayed its own order. Supreme Court Observer
Where?
India; the sources reviewed do not name the states or forest areas concerned. Supreme Court Observer
When?
Eviction order on 13 February 2019; order stayed on 28 February 2019; the case was inactive from 2019 to March 2025. Supreme Court Observer
Who?
Gained
  • Conservation groups that brought the 2008 case, including Wildlife First and Wildlife Trust of India — Filed the petition on which the eviction order was based Supreme Court Observer
Lost
None on record
Harmed
  • Forest dwellers whose Forest Rights Act claims were rejected — Covered by the eviction order, about 1.18 million families per The Leaflet The Leaflet
Why?
Conservation groups brought the case in 2008 over forest dwellers whose Forest Rights Act claims had been rejected. The sources reviewed do not give the petitioners' stated reasons. Supreme Court Observer
How?
The Supreme Court ordered the evictions and then stayed its own order after public reaction. Supreme Court Observer
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

The Leaflet reported an eviction order for about 1.18 million families after a conservation petition.

Supreme Court Observer records that the court ordered evictions on 13 February 2019 and stayed its order on 28 February 2019.

Supreme Court Observer says the case was brought in 2008 by conservation groups including Wildlife First and Wildlife Trust of India, and was inactive from 2019 to March 2025.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    1. 2008–2019-02-13Ongoing
      Eviction order and stay in conservation groups' case
      Supreme Court of India · Civil · Conservation groups, including Wildlife First and Wildlife Trust of India → Not stated in the sources reviewed

      The court ordered evictions on 13 February 2019 and stayed the order on 28 February 2019. The case was inactive from 2019 to March 2025 and appears unresolved. Supreme Court Observer

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: the number of people affected is between 1 million people and 1.18 million households.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not give the case number, the affected states, or any government response.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
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