India, Oct. 14 -- The Jharkhand cabinet on Tuesday cleared the proposal to notify a portion of the Saranda forest in the West Singhbhum district as a wildlife sanctuary, even as chief minister Hemant Soren underlined that the lives of the Scheduled Tribes who have been forest dwellers for ages should not be disturbed and their rights should be protected.

The development comes a day before the state government files an affidavit in an ongoing contempt hearing on the matter in the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

On October 10, the top court sought an undertaking from the Jharkhand government to notify the Saranda wildlife sanctuary within a week and clarified that the declaration will not impact the mining activity carried out by Steel Author...