Sariska And The Mining Menace, Explained: What’s Putting The Tiger Reserve At Risk?

In 2004, Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan made headlines for all the wrong reasons—its entire tiger population had disappeared due to unchecked poaching. What followed was a rare conservation effort: tigers were reintroduced, and protection measures were strengthened. Over time, the reserve witnessed a gradual return of its apex predators. Today, Sariska is home not only to tigers but also to leopards, sambar deer, nilgai, and a variety of bird species, all thriving in its dry deciduous forests, scrub-thorn terrain, grasslands, and rocky hills.

This fragile recovery, however, may now be under threat. In a controversial move, the State Wildlife Board has approved a proposal to "rationalise" the boundary of Sariska’s Critical Tiger Habitat (CTH). On 26 June, 2025, a proposal was approved to redraw Sariska’s CTH, excluding around 48.5 sq km in the south and south-west. In return, about 91 sq km in the north will be added as ‘quality tiger habitat’, increasing the CTH area while reducing the buffer zone.

When Boundaries Blur

Conservationists worry this change in Sariska could weaken protections for core forest areas. For a reserve that has already come back from the brink once, the decision raises unsettling questions about whether history might repeat itself. The Supreme Court previously banned mining within 1 km of Sariska’s CTH. The proposal to redraw the reserve’s boundary, excluding areas impacted by mining, has sparked concern over habitat loss and the likely expansion of mining. If approved, over 50 mines would fall outside the no-mining zone, including those in villages like Khoh, Palpur, Tilwad, Gordhanpura, Mallana, Doondpuri, Jaisinghpura, and Kalwar. Conservationists fear this could set a damaging precedent.

A Critical Tiger Habitat is a legally designated core area within a tiger reserve that is focused on tiger conservation. These core areas are maintained as inviolate zones to provide optimal conditions for tiger survival and breeding. CTHs are scientifically identified and demarcated to ensure tiger populations can thrive, while also respecting the rights of forest dwellers and Scheduled Tribes.

Redrawing The Line

RTI activist Rajendra Tiwari has challenged the state government’s proposal to reduce the area of a notified tiger reserve, citing legal concerns over the lack of proper procedures. He points out that Forest Clearance Approval under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, is mandatory, and diversion of forest land is only permissible for genuine public interest—which is missing here.

He highlights the long and arduous struggle involved in officially drawing the CTH boundaries. “The CTH was pending for 45 years—it was not even added to revenue records,” he explains. “We fought hard to get it recognised, taking the matter to the National Green Tribunal and the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, the hotel and mining industries encroached on the area due to the lack of an official CTH designation. Eventually, the CTH was formally added, and mines were shut down. But now, they have introduced a new proposal to shift the CTH boundaries. What is the motivation behind this?” he questions.

“They want to carry out commercial activities inside a national park,” Tiwari points out. “They do not even have the authority to do so. Once an area has been designated as CTH, altering its borders can only be done by the central government—not the state.” He warns that the proposal will inevitably lead to deforestation in the area, but questions the justification for it. “You cannot allow deforestation unless it is for the public good. Yet, they have not outlined any project that qualifies as such. The Supreme Court has stipulated that deforestation can only be permitted for essential public projects like hospitals, railway lines, national highways, or army campuses. Outside these conditions, changing the boundaries is not allowed.”

Tiwari cautions that the consequences of this move will be devastating. “Wildlife will be disturbed, many animals will die, and their populations will decline,” he says.

A Cycle Of Mining

Illegal mining has long been an issue in the Sariska area. Aman Singh, founder of KRAPAVIS, an Alwar-based nonprofit, explains, “Mining has been a problem, especially in southern Sariska. We approached the Supreme Court about illegal mining inside Sariska even in the 1980s. In 1993, around 400 mines were closed by SC order.” Conservationists breathed a sigh of relief—until mining resumed illegally. “These were open-cast mines, causing water from nearby areas to leak in. Locals reported wells drying up due to mining.” Despite repeated Supreme Court and National Green Tribunal interventions to close mines, illegal operations persist. Singh adds, “Miners claim there is no tiger movement here, but there is no public study to back this.” He emphasises that even human-impacted hilly terrain in dry deciduous ecosystems can be crucial refuges or corridors for species like tigers and leopards. Declaring such areas ‘degraded’ without thorough ecological assessment is misleading.

A Critical Wildlife Corridor At Risk

Activists and wildlife experts argue that the area being blocked is a vital corridor. Traditionally, it has served as the pathway for tiger movement to Jamwa Ramgarh, specifically the Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve, which is well-known for its tiger population and conservation efforts in Rajasthan. “Jamwa Ramgarh is located in the southern part—not far from the border,” says Singh. “There is a significant risk that this corridor will be closed off to all wildlife. For decades, many species have relied on this route.”

The importance of such corridors for wildlife is underscored by the recent 2018 report, Status of Tigers, Co-predators and Prey in India, released by India’s Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar. While India’s total tiger population was estimated at 2,967 in 2018, the report highlights habitat loss and fragmentation due to infrastructure development as a major threat. It notes that many tiger reserves are like “small islands” surrounded by ecologically unsustainable land uses, with corridors between them often unprotected and degrading due to human activity.

Activists emphasise that Sariska’s long-term recovery depends not only on tiger numbers but also on access to undisturbed spaces essential for dispersal, territorial establishment, and gene flow. Removing such terrain, which facilitates movement across a fragmented landscape, would jeopardise efforts to sustain a viable wildlife population by causing bottlenecks and increasing competition within species.

The Impact Of Mining On Ecology

“Mining in Sariska involves the use of explosions,” explains Singh. He warns that this disrupts the breeding systems of wildlife and poses a serious threat to their habitat. Dolomite mining, in particular, releases fine dust that settles on the local vegetation—from undergrowth to trees—smothering and destroying plant life. This damage has devastating consequences for the entire ecosystem.

The local community is also raising concerns about health hazards and water depletion in wells. They warn that livelihoods, closely tied to the environment, will be severely affected.

A Collection Of Sacred Groves

Singh adds a deeper legal and cultural dimension. He had earlier filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court to protect Rajasthan’s sacred groves, known as Orans or Devbanis. In its December 2024 judgement, the Court affirmed that traditional communities should have rights over these areas, recognising their role in protecting and conserving them. “The same principle should apply to Sariska,” Singh argues. “If you look at its history, Sariska was created by bringing together several Devbanis and declaring them a sanctuary. So this is a new legal angle we’re now pursuing to protect Sariska.”

These sacred groves—community-managed forest patches deeply tied to local religious traditions—have long played a vital role in ecological conservation. Singh believes that recognising Sariska’s roots in this tradition could offer stronger legal protection for both its people and its ecosystem.

Voices Rise For Forest And Wildlife

As the Sariska case moves through the courts, a groundswell of citizen-led resistance is taking shape across India. At the heart of this mobilisation is the Save Sariska campaign, a growing collective of concerned individuals pushing back against the government's approval to redraw the boundaries of Sariska’s Critical Tiger Habitat and reopen more than 50 mines—once permanently shut by the Supreme Court.

“How this is even allowed is beyond comprehension,” says Tannuja Chauhan, a visual artist and environmental activist involved in the campaign. To her, and many others, the proposal is more than a technical violation—it’s a symbolic erosion of environmental safeguards. “If we continue to treat our national animal and reserved forests so carelessly, then what hope remains for other wildlife and open ecosystems across the country? This not only undermines legal protections and ecological integrity but also brazenly jeopardises tiger conservation efforts already underway, especially after past failures.”

The movement isn’t just about protecting tigers—it’s about confronting a deeper crisis, they say. “The way the state of nature and animals is looking currently, we humans need to pause and rethink our actions,” says Ajay Joe, a veteran animal welfare advocate. “We are only decimating the very core of our existence since everything is interconnected in nature. We need nature and other species for our survival and not the other way round.”

That interconnection is central to the message echoed by activist Narhari Gupta, part of the Sariska campaign, who links the Sariska issue to consumer-driven ecological collapse. “Our never-ending needs and uncontrolled consumption are wreaking havoc. We have to strike a balance—if we want to survive.”

Rather than seeking passive support, the movement is calling for active civic engagement. The campaign calls for solidarity, not sympathy, urging people nationwide to demand the withdrawal of this ecologically disastrous decision. Campaigners believe this is not just a battle for Sariska, but a broader fight for the future of India’s protected forests. If decisions like these go unchallenged, they argue, it could open the floodgates for similar threats to other ecologically sensitive areas.