No mining within 1 km of national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, rules SC

‘The court was hearing applications concerning the status of the Saranda region, in Jharkhand, for which it instructed the state to proceed with issuing the sanctuary notification and emphasised that communities living in the forests must retain all protections guaranteed to them under the Forest Rights Act.

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Public infrastructure such as schools, health centres and rail links will continue to operate, though extraction-related activities are debarred, the court said.

“We further direct the state of Jharkhand to give wide publicity to the fact that by this judgment, neither the individual rights nor the community rights of the tribals and the forest dwellers in the said area would be adversely affected,” the court said.

Experts say the Supreme Court’s directions extend to existing or old mines located within 1 km of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.

“The judgment makes it clear that even operational or proposed mining within ecologically sensitive areas must comply with statutory protection under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Consequently, old mining operations falling within this prohibited buffer zone will either have to cease operations or undergo a stringent environmental review,” said Ashutosh K Srivastava, partner, SKV Law Offices.