Virender Singh, C.J. - (1.) SUO motu cognizance was taken vide order dated 14th July, 2014 and vide order dated 9th June, 2015 as it was noticed that thousands of trees are being cut fearlessly for road construction without proper application of mind in contravention of the Hon'ble Apex Court's Guidelines issued in this regard. The circulars issued by the Ministry of Environment, Government of India, were also not followed before undertaking the exercise of cutting/removal of the trees while widening the roads.
(2.) WHY the State is named and known as 'Jharkhand'? 'Jhar' means Trees/Forest and 'Khand' means 'Land/Bhoomi', which contains plateau region also. Jharkhand means, a portion of land which is full of forest and trees. The State of Jharkhand is also known as "Vananchal". The State has been named as 'Jharkhand' considering its forest coverage. The State is known for its natural resources and forest is one of the important organs of the State, which cannot be allowed to be forgotten by the concerned State authorities as well as public at large. The indispensable need to protect and conserve Trees/forest areas, by planting more and more trees on every nook and corner in the State, for healthier atmosphere and maintenance of ecological balance for sustainable development and growth also gets emphasized by the important extracts of quotations from the renowned Book naming 'ignited minds', in its chapter titling "Building A New State", written by our former President & eminent Scientist, Shri Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, are worth -mentioning, with special respect to State of Jharkhand, which in turns to be one of the greatest bestower -States of the country, is quoted hereinbelow: "If I were to look over the whole world to find out the country most richly endowed with all the wealth, power and beauty that nature can bestow - in some parts a very paradise on earth - I should point to India" F. Max Muller. "To ease the tension I told the young gathering, 'Friends, when I was travelling from Ranchi to here, I admired God's great gift to the State. Under the ground and above it, you have minerals in abundance. The rich soil of the Jharkhand plains can give bountiful crops. When I was flying over the lovely forests and the valley and hills the thought of the wealth they hold in terms of forest and herbal products was very reassuring. On the ground I saw a fully operational steel plant. Now what I see in front of me and what the new state is famous for is its industrious people. So this state has all the wealth needed. It is a land waiting for a transformation to occur. I see in the future, villages that will be provided with urban facilities and are self -contained in respect of education, health and occupation. Today's incident will help define my remaining life's mission. I forgot my inconvenience during the landing after seeing the state's wealth. How can you use this core competence to become a developed state? For that you have to work in the mission mode. At the time these children would be entering adult life and taking up careers, they could be part of a national endeavour to becoming a knowledge society. Their contribution to the state itself could be tremendous. That should be their goal; to make Jharkhand great. On the flight back to Delhi, I wondered how Jharkhand could best be helped. What was needed were a few major missions to transform the state and a time -frame. The state and the Centre would need to make an integrated effort. Would it be possible -
(3.) AFTER formation of the State on 15th November, 2000, some steps have been taken for overall development of the State, but unfortunately in the last fourteen years, an average life of the government remained hardly one -and -a -half year or maximum upto two to three years and for want of stable government, neither proper policy was framed nor any systematic development, which was expected after the formation of the new State has been done. The State cannot and should not be allowed to develop in a haphazard manner. A quotation, given below, is worth -mentioning here, in the context: You can't change the pastbut you can certainly change thefuture, It's Upon you whatyou Want !;