New Delhi, Aug. 3 -- The Supreme Court has tightened its oversight of the protection of India's wetlands, directing the Centre, states and Union territories to physically verify and demarcate all wetlands identified in the Space Applications Centre (SAC) Atlas within two months, while warning that secretaries and other senior officials will be summoned to court if the exercise remains confined to paperwork. A bench of justices Aravind Kumar and Vipul M Pancholi made it clear that the statutory exercise of "ground-truthing" and boundary demarcation under the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017, cannot be completed merely on paper and must involve physical identification of the wetlands on the ground. "Ground truthing and demarcation of wetland boundary should not only be on paper but also to be physically carried out and identification of such wetlands or water bodies as identified by the SAC Atlas shall be undertaken by all the states if not already undertaken and a report be filed before this court expeditiously and at any rate within an outer limit of two months," the bench directed in an order passed on July 28 and released on Saturday. The court added: "This exercise of physical verification if not undertaken, the Secretaries of Ministry of Environment and Forest and the Vice Chairman of the respective State Wetland Authorities shall appear in person on the next date of hearing and show cause as to why further steps should not be taken by this court for non-compliance," adding that any breach of its directions would be viewed "very seriously". The latest order marks a significant escalation in litigation the top court has been monitoring since 2018 to ensure the identification, notification and protection of wetlands across the country. The proceedings arise from a batch of public interest litigations filed by Greater Noida-based birder and environmentalist Anand Arya, advocate M.K. Balakrishnan and NGO Vanashakti....