Supreme Court says 10 km radius buffer for mining extends to all wetland reserves
The court was hearing an application filed by the State of Himachal Pradesh arguing that the 10 km radius restriction imposed in Uttarakhand should not apply to it
On August 4, 2026, the Supreme Court issued an oral clarification that a 10 km radius buffer zone prohibiting mining activities around the Asan wetland conservation reserve in Uttarakhand would be extended to all wetland conservation reserves nationwide. Chief Justice Surya Kant led the Bench, emphasizing that this principle of parity applied equally to all states, including Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.
The court's ruling stemmed from a Himachal Pradesh appeal challenging the applicability of the 10 km restriction, which stemmed from the February 14, 2014, interim order barring mining operations within a 10 km radius of the Asan reserve. The bench acknowledged the shared Himalayan terrain between Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, but left the determination of the reserve's location to an expert committee or the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
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