- (1.) On 27.07.2004 this Court passed the following order in IA No. 12: "The State Government will also report to the Court after consulting the experts as regards the outer limit beyond the boundaries of the notified sanctuary within which the stoppage of mining operations is desirable."
(2.) Pursuant to this order, the State Government referred the issue to the expert body namely "Gujarat Ecological Education and Research (GEER) Foundation". The expert body after intensive study has submitted a report and the recommendation of the expert body is as follows: "The inferences drawn from the present study indicate that mining operations, if carried out within 2.5 km from the boundaries of Narayan Sarovar Wildlife Sanctuary, should be considered as detrimental to the wildlife and wildlife habitat of the sanctuary. It is opined, therefore, that mining operations should not be allowed within 2.5 km beyond the boundaries of Narayan Sarovar Wildlife Sanctuary."
(3.) Earlier, the expert body referred to the adverse mining impact as per the visual observations made by it in three sites - Site A, Site B and Site C according to which the range varies from 2.00 km to 2.35 km. The expert body reported that the best indicator of the range of adverse mining impact, as per the data collected in the course of study, is 2.35 km as observed in the case of Site A. However, keeping in view the fact that the study was not done in all the seasons and there could be scope for some variation, the Committee commented that "the maximum range affected by the mining pollution would be more than the estimation of range based on the above visual observations i.e. a realistic range would be more than 2.35 km".;