From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday relaxed the restrictions in the one-km Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) mandated by it in June 2022, including construction of permanent structures. The restrictions on quarry mining and large constructions will, however, continue.
A Bench of Justices B R Gavai, Vikram Nath and Sanjay Karol was hearing applications filed by the Environment Ministry and various states to relax the buffer zone as per the judgmeent on June 3, 2022 that strictly prohibited construction off permanent structures and mining activities in the ESZ area.
Additional solicitor-general cited practical difficulties from one-size fits all rule of the buffer zones across the country. Senior advocate Jaideep Gupta had also made submissions on behalf of the Kerala government to modify the directions since almost 30% of the state’s geographical area has forest population.
The Court had earlier passed orders clarifying that the ESZ rule will not apply to Sanjay Gandhi National Par and Flamingo Thane Creek near Mumbai. The Court had also exempted Tungareshwar wildlife sanctuary near Mumbai from the ESZ rule.
In the June 2022 order as well, the Court had acknowledged that a uniform ESZ rule may not be feasible in all cases and there could be specific instances of sanctuaries situated near metro regions where urban activaties have come up over the years. Thee Bench hd cited examples like Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Guindy National Park in Mumbai and Chennai respectively.
