A suggestion to rationalise the edge of the Sariska Tiger Reserve's Critical Tiger Habitat (CTH) has been approved by the Rajasthan Wildlife Board and will now be tabled before the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (SC-NBWL), officials said on Tuesday.
The proposal aims to alter the existing CTH boundary by omitting some human-altered hilly landscapes and compensating for the omission by including additional buffer areas.
These buffer areas, though adjacent to the reserve, will neither be declared sanctuary nor national park zones. Authorities stated that the move is expected to reduce friction between local communities and reserve officials and encourage more collaborative conservation efforts.
Rajasthan’s Head of Forest Force (HoFF), Arijit Banerjee, confirmed the development: “The proposal to rationalise the boundary of the CTH of Sariska Tiger Reserve was brought in the Wildlife Board meeting on Monday and was adopted.”
While Banerjee did not confirm how many mines could benefit, the shift is expected to bring relief to several marble and dolomite mines in the region. These mines were ordered to shut earlier this year following a Supreme Court ruling.
The mines in question are located in and around the villages of Khoh, Palpur, Tilwad, Gordhanpura, Mallana, Doondpuri, Jaisinghpura, and Kalwar.
Their future was cast into uncertainty after the apex court took suo motu cognisance of the unchecked entry of people and private vehicles inside the reserve, leading to increased scrutiny and judicial intervention.
Complying with the Supreme Court’s directive, the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) was tasked with submitting a report, which it did in July 2024.
The Rajasthan government later accepted the CEC’s recommendations. The top court then instructed the state to complete the rationalisation process within a year.
The revised boundary proposal is now scheduled for consideration during the SC-NBWL’s upcoming meeting on 26 June in Dehradun.
However, the rationalisation plan has drawn some internal resistance. A few officials from the forest department, speaking on condition of anonymity, have raised concerns that excluding the peripheral hill tracts could hinder internal connectivity within the reserve.
They argue that Sariska is supported by two asymmetrical arms in the south, and the seemingly marginal “finger-shaped” hills are in fact vital corridors for tiger movement between the northern and southern zones.
Sariska’s initial CTH boundaries were delineated in 2007–08, but notification remained pending due to longstanding land disputes involving forest and revenue departments.
The issue has gained momentum partly because both Rajasthan’s Forest Minister, Sanjay Sharma, and Union Environment Minister, Bhupender Yadav, are Members of Parliament from Alwar district, which encompasses the reserve.
Their election is believed to have brought renewed political focus to resolving the long-standing matter.
The outcome of the SC-NBWL’s 26 June meeting is now being closely watched by conservationists, local communities, and the mining sector alike.
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