Guwahati: The Supreme Court on Tuesday orally clarified that its direction restricting mining activities within a 10-km radius of Uttarakhand’s Asan Wetland Conservation Reserve would apply to wetland conservation reserves across the country to ensure parity.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi made the observation while hearing an application filed by the Himachal Pradesh government, which argued that the restriction imposed around the Asan wetland should not automatically extend to the state.
“Wherever it is a community or a wetland conservation reserve, Asan [directions] will be applied. Wetlands are in a different category… We are conscious of the extent to which we are laying down parity,” Justice Bagchi observed.
The Himachal Pradesh government submitted that the Asan Wetland Conservation Reserve did not fall within its territory and argued that, unlike national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, wetland conservation reserves did not require a buffer zone outside the protected area.
The plea was prompted by a petition pending before the Himachal Pradesh High Court, which contended that the Supreme Court’s February 14, 2024 order relating to the Asan wetland would apply to Himachal Pradesh because it adjoins Uttarakhand.
Chief Justice Kant observed that there was no dispute that the Himalayan terrain extends across both states.
The Bench, however, said whether the Asan Wetland Conservation Reserve extended into Himachal Pradesh was a question of fact and directed the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife or the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to determine the issue.
The court said that if the wetland conservation reserve was found to extend into Himachal Pradesh, the February 14, 2024 restriction on mining would apply there as well.
If the reserve was found not to extend into Himachal Pradesh, the competent authority would decide the issue of mining in accordance with law.
“The entire Himalayan terrain has to be governed by the same set of directions. The only exception can be if an expert committee says the wetland reserve is not in your state,” the Chief Justice observed.
In its interim order dated February 14, 2024, the Supreme Court directed that no mining activity should be carried out within a 10-km radius of the Asan Wetland Conservation Reserve unless the project proponent obtained permission from the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife or the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
The court had noted that the direction was also prompted by the ecological importance of the wetland, which has been designated a Ramsar site under the Ramsar Convention.