SC bans mining activities near sanctuaries

The Supreme Court on Thursday banned mining activities within an area of one km from national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, noting that such activities will be hazardous to the wildlife. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran was considering pleas on issues related to the notification of areas under Saranda Wildlife Sanctuary (SWL) and the Sasangdaburu Conservation Reserve (SCR) as a conservation reserve in Jharkhand.

“It has been the consistent view of this court that mining activities within one km of the protected area will be hazardous to the wildlife. Though in the case of the Goa Foundation, the said directions were issued with respect to the State of Goa, we find that such directions need to be issued on a pan-India basis.

“We direct that mining within national parks and wildlife sanctuaries and within an area of one km from the boundary of such national park or wildlife sanctuary shall not be permissible,” the bench said. The Supreme Court also directed the Jharkhand Government to notify the region as a wildlife sanctuary. It clarified that the rights of the tribals and forest dwellers in the region should be protected as per the Forest Rights Act and asked the State Government to publicise it widely.

Earlier, the bench had asked the Jharkhand Government to take a decision to declare the ecologically-rich Saranda region as a reserve forest.

The matter pertained to a long-pending proposal to notify the Saranda and Sasangdaburu forest areas in West Singhbhum district as a wildlife sanctuary and conservation reserve, respectively. The State Government, in its affidavit, had earlier said it proposed to notify an area of 57,519.41 hectares, as against the original proposal of 31,468.25 hectares, as a wildlife sanctuary.