SC Panel Criticises Assam Government for Failing to Curb Mining Near Kaziranga

The Central Empowered Committee (CEC), a Supreme Court-constituted panel, has pulled up the Assam government for failing to address illegal mining near Kaziranga National Park. The committee’s remarks come ahead of a controversy over plans to reduce the Eco-Sensitive Zone of the one-horned rhino habitat.

In its response to a Right to Information (RTI) application filed by environmental activist Rohit Choudhury, the CEC said the state government did not treat the mining issue in and around the Parkup Pahar Range with the seriousness it deserves. Parkup Pahar is a declared wildlife sanctuary and a vital ecological corridor for wildlife.

The RTI application, filed on June 15, 2025, sought details of compliance with the CEC's directions to the Assam Chief Secretary issued on May 30, 2025. Choudhury asked for a comprehensive Watershed Drainage Analysis Report to identify all areas draining into Kaziranga, along with quarterly status reports on action taken against reported violations.

On July 17, the CEC replied that it had not received the watershed report. It said the quarterly status reports were attached, but the response did not indicate that the ordered watershed exercise was completed. The CEC had set October 2025 as the deadline for submitting the report.

The issue predates the RTI. In its May 30, 2025 report on Application No. 1592 of 2024, the CEC recorded allegations of renewed mining in Parkup Pahar despite the Supreme Court’s April 12, 2019 order restraining all mining and related activities along the southern boundary of Kaziranga and throughout the catchments of rivers and streams originating in the Karbi Anglong hills that flow into the park. The same order also prohibited new construction on private lands forming part of nine identified animal corridors.

On March 3, 2025, the CEC wrote to the Assam Chief Secretary, noting that mining and related activities had been going on “in some way on one pretext or the other” and that the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) was not presenting a holistic picture to the courts. The KAAC administers Karbi Anglong, the district that forms Kaziranga’s southern boundary and whose hills serve as a refuge for animals during floods.

In its letter, the CEC said: “It has been observed time and again that the issue has not been addressed with the seriousness it deserves. It may be observed that the unmistakable intent of the order of the Supreme Court is to secure the protection of wildlife and to preserve the integrity of the natural drainage system across the entire landscape, thereby safeguarding the ecological balance of the area.”

The committee also highlighted the state government’s failure to identify catchment areas of the streams and rivers originating in Karbi Anglong hills even after more than six years. It noted that the situation regarding the nine identified animal corridors was no better. The CEC had requested in May 2021 that the state government communicate the action taken to notify animal corridors connecting Kaziranga, but received no response.

The panel also pointed to areas of the Karbi Anglong Elephant Reserve, which covers Karbi Anglong and Kaziranga, that have been ravaged by large-scale mining. It questioned how mining leases around Borjuri had been sanctioned at all, given that the area forms part of the elephant reserve. The CEC observed that the KAAC seemed “oblivious of all these notifications” and was not conscious of the measures needed to protect the ecosystem.

The CEC has asked the Chief Secretary to take immediate action, warning that any violation of the Supreme Court’s order would be brought to the court’s notice. Environmental groups and citizens have expressed concern over the continued degradation of ecologically sensitive areas around the world-famous national park.