14 hrs ago
Stone Crushers Resume Near Simbalbara Park After ESZ Quashed
A protected area called Simbalbara National Park had a special buffer zone around it.
This buffer zone restricted activities such as mining and operating stone crushers.
Local residents and village councils challenged the buffer-zone notification in court.
The Himachal Pradesh High Court cancelled it because officials had not followed the required process or properly consulted residents.
After the notification was cancelled, at least two stone crushers started working again.
Government mining officials said the crushers could legally reopen because the earlier restrictions no longer applied.
Forest officials are communicating with the mining authorities about the reopened units.
Conservation officials say the area is important for wildlife and for elephants moving between states.
The state government still has to decide what action it will take next.
The Himachal Pradesh High Court quashed the 2022 Eco-Sensitive Zone notification around Col Sher Jung National Park Simbalbara on April 16, 2026.
The court cited procedural lapses and inadequate consultation with residents and local Gram Panchayats.
At least two stone crushers within the former ESZ resumed operations in May and June after their permits had been withdrawn.
The crushers are located near the Batta river and Yamuna, with heavy vehicles transporting material to and from the sites.
The state government has not yet decided whether to challenge the ruling or begin notifying a fresh ESZ.
- Who
- Residents and three Gram Panchayats challenged the Eco-Sensitive Zone notification; state mining and forest officials are dealing with its consequences.
- What
- The High Court quashed the Simbalbara Eco-Sensitive Zone notification, after which at least two stone crushers resumed operations.
- Where
- Around Col Sher Jung National Park Simbalbara in Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh, including areas near the Batta river and Yamuna.
- When
- The ESZ was notified on January 13, 2022; the High Court quashed it on April 16, 2026; the crushers resumed in May and June.
- Why
- The court found procedural lapses and insufficient consultation with local residents when the ESZ was declared.
Local Residents and Mining Operators
Environmental and Wildlife Protection Authorities
Validity of the ESZ notification
Local Residents and Mining Operators
Residents and three Gram Panchayats argued that the notification was issued without required procedures and adequate stakeholder consultation; the High Court accepted these grounds and quashed it.
Environmental and Wildlife Protection Authorities
The ESZ had been intended to create a buffer protecting the park’s fragile ecosystem by regulating potentially harmful activities.
Resumption of stone crushers
Local Residents and Mining Operators
Mining officials said the crushers predated the 2022 ESZ and could resume under the legal position created when the notification was quashed.
Environmental and Wildlife Protection Authorities
Forest officials had previously intervened to stop the units and are corresponding with the Geological wing after the crushers resumed.
Importance of the area
Local Residents and Mining Operators
The court ruling removed the restrictions that had affected activities in the covered villages and allowed affected crushers to seek resumed operations.
Environmental and Wildlife Protection Authorities
The Chief Wildlife Warden described the landscape as important for vulnerable wildlife, including reported tigers, and as a corridor for Asiatic elephants moving between Uttarakhand and Haryana.
Key facts
- Protected area
- Col Sher Jung National Park Simbalbara
- Former ESZ size
- 31.24 square kilometres
- Villages covered
- 19 villages across Bhatanwali, Patalia and Behral Gram Panchayats
- Original notification
- Issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on January 13, 2022
- Court ruling
- The Himachal Pradesh High Court quashed the notification on April 16, 2026
- Reopened units
- At least two stone crushers resumed operations
- Restricted activities
- Commercial mining, stone quarrying, crushing units and other environmentally harmful activities
Quotes
Alok Prem Nagar
PCCF and Chief Wildlife Warden.
“The stone crushers were allowed to function as per the rules and in the absence of the ESZ, as the earlier notification has been quashed. They were allowed to resume their services in the months of May-June respectively”
indianexpress.com
“The Simbalbara landscape and national park is particularly significant because vulnerable wildlife, including tigers, has been reported from the area”
indianexpress.com
Senior mining officer
A Himachal Pradesh Mining Department official explaining the crushers’ operating history and restrictions.
“These stone crushers existed much before the declaration of the Eco-Sensitive Zone of the national park in January 2022. The ESZ was notified in 2022, following which the Forest Department imposed restrictions on mining activities and the functioning of stone crushers falling within its limits in 2023.”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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