Supreme Court says 10 km radius buffer for mining extends to all wetland reserves
The Supreme Court, in the continuing T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union of India proceedings, held that the 10 km mining restriction around wetland conservation reserves is not limited to Uttarakhand and extends uniformly across all states with such reserves
The ruling came on an interlocutory application by the State of Himachal Pradesh, which had argued that the 10 km restriction — originally applied to the Asan Wetland Conservation Reserve in Uttarakhand — should not extend to it
The Court directed the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), or alternatively the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, to determine within one month whether any wetland conservation reserve exists in Himachal Pradesh
It clarified that if an expert committee finds no such reserve exists in a state, pending mining applications there may proceed under standard operating procedures rather than the 10 km restraint
The bench comprised Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana
Conservation Reserves under Section 36A, Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
A Conservation Reserve is a category of protected area under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, distinct from National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries. Under Section 36A, inserted by the 2002 amendment to the Act, a State Government may — after consulting local communities — declare any government-owned land, particularly areas adjoining existing National Parks/Sanctuaries or areas linking one protected area to another, as a Conservation Reserve to protect landscapes, seascapes, flora, fauna, and their habitat.
Key Details
- Conservation Reserves sit on government land; their statutory counterpart, Community Reserves (Section 36C), are declared on community or private land
- They function chiefly as buffer zones, corridors, or connectors between fragmented wildlife habitats
- Certain protective provisions of Sections 27, 30, 32, and 33 (applicable to sanctuaries) are extended to Conservation Reserves "as far as may be" under Section 36A
- Conservation Reserves occupy a lower position in the protected-area hierarchy than National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries, which affects the stringency of restrictions applicable to activities like mining
The Asan Wetland Conservation Reserve (Uttarakhand) is protected under this Section 36A framework; the Supreme Court's clarification concerns whether the mining buffer attached to such reserves travels with the category itself (applying wherever a Conservation Reserve exists) rather than being state-specific.
National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) and its Standing Committee
The National Board for Wildlife is a statutory body constituted under Section 5A of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (inserted by the 2002 amendment), chaired by the Prime Minister, to review and approve policy and projects affecting wildlife and protected areas. Section 5B allows the NBWL to constitute a Standing Committee to exercise delegated powers for day-to-day approvals.
Key Details
- The Standing Committee is headed by the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (as Vice-Chairperson) and includes the Member Secretary plus up to ten nominated members
- It evaluates development and infrastructure projects — including mining — located within or near protected areas, commonly using a 10 km radius from the boundary as the trigger distance requiring its clearance
- This 10 km distance is an administrative screening threshold used by the Standing Committee/State Wildlife Boards for referring projects for scrutiny; it is distinct from the separate, judicially-mandated minimum 1 km Eco-Sensitive Zone around National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries
The Court's order directs this very Standing Committee (or MoEFCC) to determine, within a state, whether a wetland conservation reserve exists — since its existence is the precondition that triggers the 10 km mining-clearance requirement.
Eco-Sensitive Zones vs the 10 km Wetland Buffer — Two Distinct Protective Layers
UPSC aspirants must distinguish between the Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) framework and the wetland conservation reserve mining buffer, as both use distance thresholds but arise from different legal proceedings and instruments.
Key Details
- In In Re: T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union of India (judgment dated June 3, 2022), a 3-judge bench held that every National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary must have a minimum 1 km Eco-Sensitive Zone where developmental activities, including mining, are regulated or prohibited, even where the state has not notified a formal ESZ
- A subsequent 2023 clarification held that this mining prohibition extends up to 1 km from the protected area boundary even where the sanctuary/park's own boundary exceeds that distance
- Separately, in 2015 the Uttarakhand High Court imposed an absolute mining ban within 10 km of the Asan Wetland Conservation Reserve; the Supreme Court modified this on February 14, 2024, requiring prior clearance from the NBWL Standing Committee/MoEFCC (rather than an absolute ban) for mining within that 10 km radius
- The August 2026 ruling extends this 10 km wetland-reserve clearance requirement — not the 1 km ESZ rule — as a general principle applicable wherever a wetland conservation reserve is established, not just in Uttarakhand
The Himachal Pradesh application specifically concerned the 10 km wetland-reserve buffer (not the 1 km ESZ around parks/sanctuaries), and the Court's ruling clarifies that this wetland-specific buffer is a general rule tied to the existence of a Conservation Reserve, not a one-off Uttarakhand-specific direction.
The Godavarman Case — India's Longest-Running Environmental Continuing Mandamus
T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union of India began in 1995 as a Public Interest Litigation to protect forest lands in the Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, and was progressively expanded by the Supreme Court into a nationwide "continuing mandamus" covering forest, wildlife, and mining regulation across India.
Key Details
- The case has produced landmark rulings on the definition of "forest" (the 1996 order adopting the dictionary meaning of forest for the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980), Compensatory Afforestation Fund mechanisms, and, more recently, eco-sensitive zones and mining moratoria (including 2025 rulings on the Aravalli hills)
- Because it remains a live, continuing case (W.P.(C) No. 202/1995), state governments can approach the Court directly through Interlocutory Applications (IAs) — as Himachal Pradesh did here — rather than filing fresh litigation
- This procedural structure allows the Supreme Court to issue nationwide environmental directions and periodically clarify or extend them to specific states through IAs within the same matter
The Himachal Pradesh dispute was filed and resolved as an IA within the decades-old Godavarman proceedings, illustrating how this single case continues to generate binding, evolving environmental jurisprudence for the entire country.
- Ruling date: August 4, 2026; bench: Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana
- Case: T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union of India, I.A. in W.P.(C) No. 202/1995 (originally filed 1995)
- Original 10 km wetland mining restriction: Uttarakhand High Court, 2015, concerning the Asan Wetland Conservation Reserve; modified by Supreme Court on February 14, 2024, to require NBWL Standing Committee/MoEFCC clearance rather than an absolute ban
- Legal basis for Conservation Reserves: Section 36A, Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (inserted 2002)
- NBWL: constituted under Section 5A (2002 amendment); Standing Committee under Section 5B, headed by the Union Environment Minister
- Distinct ESZ rule: minimum 1 km Eco-Sensitive Zone around all National Parks/Wildlife Sanctuaries mandated in Godavarman (June 3, 2022 judgment), clarified in 2023 to apply even where PA boundaries exceed 1 km
- Timeline set for Himachal Pradesh: 1 month for the Standing Committee/MoEFCC to determine presence of a wetland conservation reserve, failing which pending mining applications proceed under standard operating procedures