The Supreme Court directed that every protected forest, national park and wildlife sanctuary across the country should have a mandatory eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of a minimum one km starting from their demarcated boundaries.
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Environment Ministry guidelines show that the purpose of declaring ESZs around national parks, forests and sanctuaries is to create some kind of a “shock absorber” for the protected areas.
These zones would act as a transition zone from areas of high protection to those involving lesser protection.
The judgment observed that the government should not confine its role to that of a “facilitator” of economic activities for the “immediate upliftment of the fortunes of the State”.
In a series of directions, the court held that in case any national park or protected forest already has a buffer zone extending beyond one km, that would prevail.
In case the question of the extent of buffer zone was pending a statutory decision, then the court’s direction to maintain the one-km safety zone would be applicable until a final decision is arrived. The court directed that “mining within the national parks and wildlife sanctuaries shall not be permitted”.
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