Despite SC order, mining unabated near Kaziranga in Assam

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.