Outlook Explains | Supreme Court Clarifies Mining Rules For Ramsar Sites

The Supreme Court has clarified that its February 2024 direction restricting mining activities within a 10-km radius of the Asan Wetland Conservation Reserve in Uttarakhand will apply to wetland conservation reserves across the country.

The clarification extends the scope of the court's earlier interim order beyond the Asan Ramsar site and establishes a uniform standard for mining activities around notified wetland conservation reserves.

The oral clarification came on Tuesday during the hearing of an application filed by the Himachal Pradesh government before a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.

State Jurisdiction

The State contended that the February 14, 2024 order relating to the Asan Wetland Conservation Reserve should not automatically extend to Himachal Pradesh, arguing that the reserve did not fall within its territory. It further submitted that, unlike national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, wetland conservation reserves do not have a statutory buffer zone, making a similar restriction unwarranted.

Rejecting a restrictive interpretation of its earlier order, Justice Bagchi observed that the directions issued in the Asan case would apply wherever there is a community reserve or a wetland conservation reserve. Observing that wetlands occupy "a different category", the Bench said it was conscious of maintaining parity in the protection extended to such ecologically sensitive areas across the country.

The court, however, noted that whether the Asan Wetland Conservation Reserve extends into Himachal Pradesh is a question of fact. It directed the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife or the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to ascertain the position.

If the reserve is found to extend into Himachal Pradesh, the February 2024 restriction on mining would apply there as well. If it is found not to lie within the State, the competent authority would decide whether mining could be permitted in accordance with law.

Chief Justice Kant observed that the same directions should govern the Himalayan terrain unless an expert body concludes that the wetland reserve does not fall within Himachal Pradesh.

Court's Intervention

The interim order of February 14, 2024 had directed that no mining activity should be undertaken within a 10-km radius of the Asan Wetland Conservation Reserve unless the project proponent first obtains permission from the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife and/or the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. While issuing the direction, the court had attached significance to the wetland's designation as a Ramsar site under the Ramsar Convention.

The ruling is significant as it extends judicial protection against mining to wetland conservation reserves across India. It recognises wetlands as a distinct ecological category whose conservation extends beyond their notified boundaries to the surrounding landscape. Mining projects within the prescribed 10-km radius will now require scrutiny and approval by the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Ecological Safeguard

Conservation Reserves were introduced through the 2002 amendment to the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 to protect government-owned land adjoining national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, with community participation in conservation.

Unlike Eco-Sensitive Zones, which are notified under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 as buffer areas around protected forests and regulate activities such as mining and industrial development, wetland conservation reserves do not have a statutory buffer zone.

The decision comes against the backdrop of continuing challenges to wetland conservation, including encroachment, land-use change, pollution, incomplete mapping and notification of wetlands, weak enforcement by State Wetland Authorities, and increasing pressure from mining and infrastructure projects.