Supreme Court orders against illegal mining in Sariska reserve

Supreme Court orders against illegal mining in Sariska reserve

Sub: Environment

Sec: Protected Area

Context:

• The Supreme Court of India ordered the closure of 68 mines within a 1-kilometre radius of critical tiger habitat (CTH) of the Sariska tiger reserve on May 15.

Details:

• The purpose is to stop the illegal mining of marble, dolomite, and limestone in the area, which violates the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and the Environment Protection Act, of 1986.
• The order is viewed as an opportunity to rectify past errors and effectively demarcate no-go zones around Sariska and other affected reserves.
• Based on a “traced map provided by the Forest Department,” the Jain Committee found in 1992 that the protected areas covered “about 800 sq km”.
• The Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the SC in the 2000s submitted a damning report on mining around the Jamua Ramgarh Sanctuary which is part of the Sariska tiger reserve.

About Sariska Tiger Reserve:

• A tiger reserve in Alwar district, Rajasthan, India.
• It stretches over an area of 881 km2 (340 sq mi) comprising scrub-thorn arid forests, dry deciduous forests, grasslands, and rocky hills.
• This area was a hunting preserve of the Alwar state and was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1958.
• It was given the status of a tiger reserve making it a part of India’s Project Tiger in 1978.
• The wildlife sanctuary was declared a national park in 1982, with a total area of about 273.8 km2 (105.7 sq mi).
• It is the first reserve in the world with successfully relocated tigers.
• It is an important biodiversity area in the Northern Aravalli leopard and wildlife corridor.
• The park is a part of the Aravalli Range and the Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests ecoregion.
• It is rich in mineral resources, such as copper. Despite the Supreme Court’s 1991 ban on mining in the area, marble mining continues to threaten the environment.
• Flora: The dominant tree in the forests is dhok (Anogeissus pendula).
  • Other trees include the salar (Boswellia serrata), kadaya (Sterculia urens), dhak (Butea monosperma), gol (Lannea coromandelica), ber (Ziziphus mauritiana) and khair (Acacia catechu).
• Fauna: Apart from the Bengal tiger, the reserve harbours many wildlife species including sloth bear, Indian leopard, jungle cat, caracal, striped hyena, golden jackal, chital, sambar deer, nilgai, wild boar, small Indian civet, Javan mongoose, ruddy mongoose, honey badger, Rhesus macaque and Northern plains grey langur and Indian hare.
  • Bird species present include grey francolin, white-throated kingfisher, Indian peafowl, bush quail, sandgrouse, treepie, golden-backed woodpecker, crested serpent eagle and the Indian eagle-owl.
• In 2008, two tigers from Ranthambhore National Park were relocated to Sariska Tiger Reserve.

Jamua Ramgarh Sanctuary:

• In Ramgarh, a subdivision of Jaipur, Rajasthan.
• Located near the Ramgarh artificial lake.
• Banganaga River, which originates from the hills of Bairath, passes through the sanctuary.
• The Ramgarh Lake hosted a rowing event during the 1982 Asian Games.

Critical Tiger habitat

• These are core areas of tiger reserves and are identified under the Wild Life Protection Act (WLPA), 1972 based on scientific evidence.
• Such areas are required to be kept as inviolate for the purpose of tiger conservation, without affecting the rights of the Scheduled Tribes or such other forest dwellers.
• The notification of CTH is done by the state government in consultation with the expert committee constituted for the purpose.