What Happened
- A conservationist from Assam submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma flagging alleged rat-hole mining activities in the Jagun, Lekhapani, and Margherita forest ranges in Upper Assam — reserved forests adjoining Arunachal Pradesh.
- The activist urged the Assam government to upgrade five reserved forests in the coal belt to wildlife sanctuaries, arguing that a higher statutory protection level would deter mining encroachment and resolve jurisdictional ambiguity along the shifting Leka Haka stream on the Assam-Arunachal border.
- In November 2025, the Supreme Court had separately directed a prohibition on mining within a one-kilometre radius of all national parks and wildlife sanctuaries — an order whose enforcement would be strengthened if these reserved forests received sanctuary status.
- The coal belt in question adjoins the Dehing Patkai National Park ecosystem — a biodiversity hotspot and one of India's most extensive lowland rainforest tracts.
Static Topic Bridges
Rat-Hole Mining: Method, NGT Ban, and Persistent Illegality
Rat-hole mining is a primitive, unscientific method of coal extraction in which miners dig narrow horizontal tunnels (rat holes) into hillsides or along coal seams, crawl inside, and manually extract coal using basic tools. Two main variants exist: side-cutting (horizontal tunnels into hillsides along coal seams) and box-cutting (rectangular open pits with vertical shafts). The National Green Tribunal (NGT) banned rat-hole mining in Meghalaya in April 2014 on grounds of being "unscientific and illegal," citing environmental damage (river acidification, landslides) and severe occupational hazards. The Supreme Court upheld this ban. However, enforcement has remained chronically weak — as evidenced by the East Jaintia Hills mine disaster (February 2026) in which over 30 bodies were recovered from an illegal rat-hole mine.
- NGT rat-hole mining ban order: April 17, 2014 (also prohibited transport of already-mined coal)
- Meghalaya context: Sixth Schedule of the Constitution — land belongs to communities, enabling informal/private mining without large government oversight
- East Jaintia Hills disaster (Feb 2026): dynamite explosion in illegal rat-hole mine; 30+ deaths
- Mines Act, 1952: governs mine safety nationally; requires inspection, safety protocols, prohibited depth/dimensions — systematically violated in rat-hole operations
- Coal Mines Nationalisation Act, 1973: nationalized coal mines under Coal India Limited; but small, informal, private mining (especially in Meghalaya and NE states) exploited legal loopholes
Connection to this news: The Assam activism reveals that rat-hole coal mining is spreading beyond Meghalaya into Upper Assam's reserved forests — areas without the constitutional protection of the Sixth Schedule but with similarly weak enforcement capacity.
Reserved Forests vs. Wildlife Sanctuaries: Statutory Hierarchy
Under the Indian Forest Act, 1927 (IFA), the government can notify Reserved Forests (RF) — the highest class of protected forest under forestry law — which prohibit most human activities including mining, felling, and cultivation without government permission. However, wildlife sanctuaries (notified under Chapter IV of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972) carry stronger biodiversity-specific protections: hunting, poaching, and activities that damage habitat are prohibited under WPA Section 29; a standing committee must approve industrial activities within the sanctuary; and the 1 km eco-sensitive zone logic applies. The conservationist's demand to upgrade these RFs to wildlife sanctuaries is precisely to invoke the WPA framework, which has stronger enforcement mechanisms, judicial oversight, and now the benefit of the November 2025 Supreme Court order banning mining within 1 km of sanctuaries.
- Indian Forest Act, 1927: IFA Section 20 (notification of RF), Section 26 (prohibited acts in RF — felling, mining, clearing)
- Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Chapter IV (Section 18–35) governs sanctuaries and national parks
- Difference: National Parks = absolutely inviolable (no human habitation, grazing); Sanctuaries = allow limited traditional rights subject to collector determination
- November 2025 SC order: 1 km mining prohibition zone around national parks and sanctuaries — enforcement incentive for sanctuary notification
- Dehing Patkai: Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary (Assam) upgraded to National Park status in 2020 after prolonged activism against Coal India mining approvals
Connection to this news: The five reserved forests being flagged border Dehing Patkai National Park — achieving sanctuary status would create a contiguous protected buffer and bring the Supreme Court's 1 km mining prohibition into direct legal force.
Dehing Patkai Ecosystem and Biodiversity Significance
Dehing Patkai is often called the "Amazon of the East" — it is the largest contiguous lowland rainforest in India, part of the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot, and supports a range of endangered species including the Hoolock Gibbon (India's only ape), the Asian elephant, clouded leopard, and numerous endemic orchids and trees. The area straddles Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, with the Assam portion consisting of the Dehing Patkai National Park (established 2020) and adjoining reserved forests. The coal-bearing geology (Eocene-age lignite and bituminous coal) of the region makes it a persistent flashpoint between mining interests and conservation imperatives.
- Dehing Patkai NP (Assam): established as National Park in 2020 (previously a Wildlife Sanctuary); area ~111 sq km
- Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot: one of 36 global biodiversity hotspots identified by Conservation International
- Hoolock Gibbon (Hoolock hoolock): India's only ape; found only in NE India and Myanmar; IUCN: Endangered
- Coal mining in Dehing Patkai: Coal India had a "Go" area allocation rescinded in 2020 after Supreme Court intervention and public protests
- Jurisdictional complexity: Assam-Arunachal border disputes mean the Leka Haka stream-based boundary is disputed, enabling miners to exploit enforcement gaps
Connection to this news: The activist's proposal to upgrade reserved forests to wildlife sanctuaries is specifically designed to close this jurisdictional and enforcement gap, using the stronger WPA legal framework to protect an ecosystem that is already under threat from historically approved and now newly illegal mining operations.
Key Facts & Data
- Forest ranges flagged: Jagun, Lekhapani, Margherita (Upper Assam)
- Demand: upgrade 5 reserved forests adjoining Dehing Patkai to wildlife sanctuaries
- NGT rat-hole mining ban: April 17, 2014 (Meghalaya); upheld by Supreme Court
- East Jaintia Hills disaster (Feb 2026): illegal rat-hole mine; 30+ fatalities
- Supreme Court order (Nov 2025): mining prohibited within 1 km of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries
- Dehing Patkai National Park established: 2020 (upgraded from Wildlife Sanctuary)
- Dehing Patkai: India's largest lowland rainforest; part of Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot
- Hoolock Gibbon: IUCN Endangered; only ape found in India; endemic to NE India
- Mines Act, 1952: governs mine safety; routinely violated in rat-hole operations
- IFA, 1927: Section 26 prohibits mining in Reserved Forests without government permission
- WPA, 1972: Chapter IV governs wildlife sanctuaries with stronger enforcement tools