Despite the orders of the Supreme Court to ban mining Parkup Pahar Range, a wildlife sanctuary located in the Karbi Anglong district of Assam, India, near the catchment and eco-sensitive zone of Kaziranga National Park, it continues unabated.
Responding to an RTI filed by Assam-based activist Rohit Choudhary, the SC’s Central Empowered Committee (CEC) said the Assam Government did not address the issue with the sincerity it deserved. The activist sought a comprehensive Watershed Drainage Analysis Report that was to identify all areas draining into Kaziranga. To this, the panel replied it had not received the comprehensive Watershed Drainage Analysis Report. Mining in Karbi Anglong, includes both major mineral exploration and minor quarrying operations.
On March 5, 2026, the panel wrote to the Assam Government, asking the chief secretary that the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) should be requested to prepare a comprehensive wildlife management plan for the Karbi Anglong area. The plan must include measures for mitigation of damage to wildlife. “It shall be ensured that sanction of any new mine lease and/or revocation of any suspended mining lease shall not take place and unless this management plan is in place and the watershed boundaries and areas of concern have been scientifically delineated and verified,” the committee said.
In the same letter, the panel said 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.
In its 2025 report, the panel stated that despite the directions by the apex court, rampant mining continued, particularly in the Parkup Pahar Range. “It is alleged that since 2019, post the SC’s order, mining has not only continued but has intensified, with a dozen mines operating in the protected area under licenses issued by the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC), which lacks authority to override SC orders or statutory environmental protections,” the panel noted.
