CEC report: Illegal mining near Kaziranga Park intensified despite SC ban

New Delhi: The Central Empowered Committee (CEC) has told the Supreme Court that illegal mining has continued and intensified in Assam’s Parkup Pahar area near the Kaziranga National Park, despite a 2019 top court order banning all mining and related activities in and around the park’s eco-sensitive zone.

Kaziranga, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is home to around 65 per cent of the endangered one-horned rhino population in the world. It forms part of an important wildlife corridor between the Brahmaputra floodplains and the Karbi Anglong hills.

The Supreme Court, acting on earlier findings by the CEC, had prohibited all mining and related activities in this region to prevent degradation of critical wildlife habitats and forested landscapes.

Based on a complaint from an anonymous government employee in Assam and field-level verification, the CEC submitted a fresh report dated May 30 to the SC, saying that mining activities in the region have “continued and intensified” despite the apex court’s ban ordered on April 4, 2019.

Rampant mining continues, particularly in the Parkup Pahar Range, a declared wildlife sanctuary forming the southern boundary of the Kaziranga National Park, the report said.

The complaint received from the government employee in December 2024 contained Google Earth imagery from 2018 to 2024 and site-specific data.

The images reportedly showed that mining, which had stopped following the SC’s 2019 ban order, resumed and intensified after 2021.

The CEO forwarded the complaint to the Assam forest and police departments, requesting a factual report.

The principal chief conservator of forests, Assam, submitted a detailed report on February 5, outlining the actions taken, including the suspension of mining leases.

The report confirmed that stone mining was occurring close to the Borjuri Waterfall and its surrounding streams, which flow towards Kaziranga.

In its response, the CEC said that since the leases fall within a draft eco-sensitive zone, they should have been cancelled altogether.

It also said the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) gave fresh permissions for dozens of mines in the forest areas and in the proposed eco-sensitive zones, violating the SC ban and without the required approval from the standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife and the Central government under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.