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Supreme Court bans mining within 1-km radius of national parks, wildlife sanctuaries

Tags: National Science and Technology

The Supreme Court of India on 3 June 2022 directed that national parks and wildlife sanctuaries must have an Eco Sensitive Zone (ESZ) of minimum one km from the demarcated boundary of a protected forest.

A three judge bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao, B R Gavai and A S Bopanna said mining within the national parks and wildlife sanctuaries shall not be permitted.

The direction came on a pending Public Interest Litigation (PIL) T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union of India 1995 case  which is also known as the Forest Case in India’.

T.N. Godavarman filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in 1995 in the Supreme Court to safeguard and protect the forest land of the Nilgiris as it was exploited through deforestation by unlawful timber activities.

Main Highlight of Supreme Court judgement 

• No permanent structure will be allowed within the ESZ..
• No mining to be allowed in the within the national parks and wildlife sanctuaries
• National parks and wildlife sanctuaries must have an Eco Sensitive Zone (ESZ) of minimum one km from the demarcated boundary of a protected forest.
•  In December 2006, the Supreme Court used this PIL to pass an order on a case relating to Goa mining and had passed a direction for maintaining a 10-kilometer wide safety zone from the boundaries in respect of sanctuaries and national parks.
•  However, this did not deal with the minimum boundary for ESZ.
• On the issue of minimum distance to be maintained the Court said that the present order would apply in all such states/UTs where the minimum ESZ is not prescribed.
•  However, in the case where the  state governments  have prescribed minimum ESZ beyond one kilometer, the Supreme Court said that the state rule will prevail
• The Chief Conservator of Forests of the states and Union Territories were asked to examine the need for widening ESZ in respect of any national park or sanctuary and seek approval from the Court after consulting the respective state/UT, Centre or Standing Committee of National Board of Wildlife.
• The Supreme Court also directed the Chief Conservator of Forests of all states and Union Territories to prepare a list of existing structures within the ESZs and submit a report to it within a period of three months.

Supreme Court of India 

It was set up on 26 January 1950 

It has one Chief Justice and 33 other Judges 

Current Chief Justice of India: Justice N.V .Ramana 

Seat of the  Supreme Court: New Delhi