Sariska Tiger Reserve: Supreme Court Orders Mine Closures
The Supreme Court of India told the Rajasthan government on May 15 to close 68 mines that are less than one kilometer from the Sariska Tiger Reserve.
- This decision is part of a larger attempt to keep illegal mining out of the important habitat for tigers, which has been a problem since the 1990s.
- The court’s ruling backs up rules from the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 and the Environment Protection Act of 1986, which both say that quarrying is not allowed near tiger reserves.
- A local NGO first brought the issue of mining in Sariska to the attention of the Supreme Court in October 1991 through a Petition in the Likeness(PIL) of the Parties .
- An interim order stopped mining in the reserve right away, and Justice M. L. Jain set up a fact-finding group.
- The next results confirmed that the 800 sq km protected area was very important.
- In April 1993, the court stepped up its efforts by telling 262 mines in this area to close down.
- By the middle of the 2000s, reports from the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) showed that violations were still happening.
- This led to more court orders to build a one-kilometer safety zone around the reserve.
- But despite these attempts, progress was slowed down by actions that were not consistent across states and disagreements over where the borders should be.
