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

The Supreme Court on Thursday, 13 November, imposed a nationwide ban on mining activities within one km of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, observing that such operations pose a serious threat to wildlife and ecological balance.

A bench comprising Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran was hearing petitions related to the notification of Jharkhand’s Saranda Wildlife Sanctuary and the Sasangdaburu Conservation Reserve as protected areas.

“It has been the consistent view of this court that mining activities within one kilometre of protected areas will be hazardous to wildlife,” the bench said. “Though in the case of 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.”

Accordingly, the court ordered that “mining within national parks and wildlife sanctuaries and within one kilometre from their boundaries shall not be permissible.”

Directions to Jharkhand government

The bench also directed the Jharkhand government to notify the Saranda and Sasangdaburu regions in West Singhbhum district as a wildlife sanctuary and conservation reserve, respectively.

However, the court made it clear that the rights of tribals and forest dwellers must be fully protected under the Forest Rights Act, and asked the state government to widely publicise this protection to avoid displacement or misuse of the order.

Earlier hearings had noted the ecological significance of the Saranda forests — one of India’s richest sal forest ecosystems — which are home to elephants, leopards, and several endangered species, and under increasing threat from iron ore mining.

The Jharkhand government had previously filed an affidavit stating that it proposes to notify 57,519.41 hectares of the Saranda region as a wildlife sanctuary, expanding it from the original 31,468.25 hectares proposed earlier.

The court’s order marks a major step toward strengthening wildlife protection norms across India, extending the buffer zone concept beyond Goa to all states and union territories.