Supreme Court mandates 1km ESZ for sanctuaries; bans permanent structures in exclusion zone

The Supreme Court of India on directed that each protected forest should have an Eco Sensitive Zone (ESZ) of 1 km around it.

The Court also directed that no permanent structure will be allowed within the ESZ.

Manufacturing and similar activities underway along these zones will go on only with the permission of the Chief Conservator of Forests, the court ruled.

The Chief Conservator of each state will prepare a list of existing structures that come under the ESZ designation and submit it within three months, the Supreme Court said.

Further, mining within national wildlife sanctuary or national park cannot be permitted and thus will not be allowed, the court declared.

If the existing ESZ goes beyond 1 km buffer zone or if any statutory instrument prescribes a higher limit, then such extended boundary shall prevail, the court ruled.

A bench comprising Justices L Nageswara Rao, BR Gavai and Aniruddha Bose passed the directions in applications filed in the TN Godavarman Thirumalpad case, reported legal news portal LiveLaw.

Writ Petition (C) No. 202 of 1995 was filed as a PIL under Article 32 of the Constitution of India for and on behalf of the people living in and around the Nilgiri Forest on the Western Ghats.

The petitioner sought to challenge the legality and the validity of the actions of the State of Tamil Nadu, the Collector, Nilgiris District and the District Forest Officer, Gudalur and the Timber Committee represented through the Collector, Nilgiris (Respondent Nos. 2 to 5 respectively), in destroying the tropical rain forest in the Gudalur and Nilgiri areas in violation of the Forest Act, 1927, Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 and Tamil Nadu Hill Stations Preservation of Trees Act and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

This, according to the petitioner, has resulted in serious ecological imbalances affecting lives and livelihood of the people living in the State of Tamil Nadu.