New Delhi: Illegal mining activities have not only persisted but intensified in Assam’s Parkup Pahar region, bordering the Kaziranga National Park, despite a 2019 Supreme Court order banning all such operations, the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) informed the apex court in a recent report.
The committee’s findings, based on field inspections and a whistleblower complaint from a government official in Assam, highlight ongoing violations within the eco-sensitive zone of Kaziranga — a UNESCO World Heritage Site and critical habitat for the world’s largest population of one-horned rhinoceroses.
The report, dated May 30, revealed that active mining continues unabated in the Parkup Pahar Range, which forms the southern boundary of Kaziranga and is officially classified as a wildlife sanctuary.
According to the CEC, mining in this zone directly threatens fragile ecosystems and vital water sources, including streams feeding into Kaziranga from the Borjuri Waterfall area.
The whistleblower’s complaint, submitted in December 2024, was accompanied by satellite imagery from Google Earth, covering the years 2019 to 2023.
The visuals suggest that mining resumed and increased significantly after 2021, despite the Supreme Court’s explicit order of April 4, 2019, banning mining in the region to protect its biodiversity and ecological integrity.
In response, the CEC contacted both Assam’s forest and police departments. A report submitted by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests on February 5 confirmed stone mining activities near key water catchments.
The CEC further raised serious concerns over the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC), which it said had granted numerous unauthorized mining permits in forest areas and proposed eco-sensitive zones — a move in direct violation of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, and Supreme Court directives.
The panel emphasised that KAAC does not have the legal authority to issue such approvals without clearance from the National Board for Wildlife and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Recommending urgent action, the CEC called for an immediate halt to all mining and related operations in the Parkup Pahar and adjacent forest catchments.
It also urged that no new leases be approved in the area.
Additionally, the committee directed KAAC to prepare and submit a detailed watershed and drainage analysis to map out streams that flow into Kaziranga.
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It also suggested that the Assam government seek a review of recent Gauhati High Court rulings that permitted some mining activities, noting the court had not been made aware of the Supreme Court’s standing 2019 ban.
To ensure accountability and enforcement, the CEC instructed the Karbi Anglong Superintendent of Police and the state’s Director General of Police to take immediate and strict action to stop illegal mining and mineral transport.
The KAAC has also been directed to submit quarterly compliance reports through the Assam Chief Secretary.
