In Brief
The Supreme Court modified its earlier order imposing a uniform one-kilometre eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) boundary around all national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. The Court held that ESZ boundaries must be site-specific and cannot be uniform, as circumstances differ based on geography, demographics, and development patterns. While maintaining an absolute ban on mining within one kilometre of protected area boundaries, the Court endorsed the existing 2011 Guidelines issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, which permit regulated activities in ESZs after expert scrutiny. The judgment acknowledges that hundreds of villages exist within ESZs and that complete prohibition would prevent citizens from reconstructing homes and building essential infrastructure. The Court directed strict adherence to the Guidelines and the established statutory procedure under the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 for notifying ESZ boundaries.
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