Environment ministry backtracks on Sariska boundary plan, agrees to public consultation

In a significant climbdown, the Union Environment Ministry has told the Supreme Court that it will invite public objections and reconsider the contentious rationalization of Sariska Tiger Reserve’s Critical Tiger Habitat (CTH) boundaries. The move comes after weeks of insisting that the plan was already in “strict statutory compliance.”

The ministry’s one-page note, placed before the court recently by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, acknowledged that the apex court’s December 2024 order made a draft notification and stakeholder consultation mandatory. “With a view to allay any apprehensions… objections will be invited and the final decision will be taken after considering them,” the note stated, adding that the plan may be sent back to the National Board for Wildlife if required.

The reversal follows scrutiny of how swiftly the proposal advanced. On June 23, the Rajasthan State Wildlife Board cleared the plan; within 48 hours, it won approval from the National Tiger Conservation Authority, and by June 26, the National Board for Wildlife’s standing committee had given its nod — completing the process in just four days.

Environmentalists alleged the hurried approvals were designed to benefit over 50 marble and dolomite mines shuttered by the Supreme Court last May for operating too close to the tiger habitat.

Petitioners, including Alwar-based Tiger Trails Trust and Gurgaon-based People for Aravallis, told the court the process was riddled with inconsistencies and ignored gram sabhas, despite the Forest Rights Act requiring their consent in such cases.

“The court has not gone into the merits of the plan yet. At this stage, we are fixing procedural issues. Clarity is also needed on whether gram sabha consent is mandatory,” a senior Environment Ministry official said.

The controversy traces back to a 2023 suo motu case over unregulated entry of vehicles into Sariska. When the court expanded the scope to include mining, grazing, relocation and staffing issues, the Central Empowered Committee pointed to “poor demarcation” as a factor behind illegal mining.

While Rajasthan accepted the committee’s recommendations, the court had directed in December 2024 that the rationalisation process be completed within a year — subject to its final approval. Under the state’s plan, boundary retreats in multiple stretches would move dozens of quarries outside the one-kilometre no-mining zone, potentially reviving a lucrative mining belt.

With the Supreme Court set to hear the matter again in December, the fate of Sariska’s boundaries — and the mines that ring it — remains uncertain.