In Brief
Following rampant illegal mining and ecological damage in three Karnataka districts (Bellary, Chitradurga, Tumkur), the Supreme Court had imposed an absolute ban in 2011, later allowing limited resumption with production caps of 25 MMT (Bellary) and 5 MMT (Chitradurga/Tumkur). In this 2017 judgment on multiple interlocutory applications, the Court accepted the Central Empowered Committee's recommendations to modestly enhance caps to 28 MMT and 7 MMT respectively, based on scientific R&R Plans developed for each mine. However, the Court refused to include newly-auctioned category C mines within these caps, instead directing separate regulation via individual R&R Plans, preserving intergenerational equity while adapting to changed ground realities and verified mineral reserves.
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