Karbi Anglong Hills play the most crucial role of providing food and shelter to wildlife of Kaziranga National Park when the park grasslands are submerged during floods and also during the non-flood period of animal migration. Conservation of forest ecology in the Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong landscape is critical to sustaining conservation of wildlife and biodiversity of the World Heritage Site. Rampant and illegal mining continuing in Karbi Anglong Hills in violation of a standing Supreme Court (SC) order banning all kinds of mining and related activities is a disastrous attack on the fragile ecosystem of the landscape. If the ecology of the landscape is destroyed, then construction of the proposed elevated corridor through the park to facilitate unhindered migration of animals from Kaziranga plains to the Kabri Anglong hills will not be able to achieve the objective of protection and long-term conservation of park animals. The SC-constituted Central Empowered Committee (CEC) has exposed the continuation of illegal mining in Karbi Anglong hills in stark detail in its report submitted to the apex court last month after a whistleblower drew the CEC’s attention to it. Judicial intervention to protect the landscape from destruction is the last resort when executives fail miserably to perform their duties. The SC passed an order in 2019 restraining all kinds of mining and related activities along the national park area and in the entire catchment area of rivers/streams and rivulets originating in Karbi Anglong Hill ranges and flowing into the park, including Tiger Reserve. The Apex court also directed the Director General of Police, Assam, and the Superintendent of Police concerned to ensure that no illegal mining takes place in the aforesaid area and no transportation of illegally mined material takes place from Karbi Anglong Hills. The SC order was based on an earlier report of the CEC submitted in 2019 about its findings of mining/stone quarrying taking place in Karbi Hills under mining permits issued by the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council. The issue also brought the governance sharing model under the provisions of the Sixth Schedule to the fore. The CEC insisted in the 2019 report that since mining is not a subject among 30 subjects transferred by the State Government to the Council, the Divisional Forest Officers working under the council are not competent authorities to issue the permits, and the competent authority to issue the mining permits for minor minerals in the KAAC area is the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Assam. The CEC asserted that the foothills of the Karbi Anglong Hills with lush growth of bamboos are ideal habitats for animals and form part of the Kaziranga Karbi Anglong Elephant Reserve, and therefore, undertaking mining activities in these areas by resorting to vertical cutting of the hill ranges invariably destroys the natural gradient and in the process makes it almost impossible for the wildlife animals to climb and access the foothills, and instead they are forced to move towards the human settlements, leading to man-animal conflicts. While acknowledging that stone quarrying may be a necessity in the context of developmental activities taking place in the state, the CEC expressed the view that such stone mining sites should be avoided within the Eco-Sensitive Zone of KNP and in the animal corridors connecting the various habitats in this important and sensitive landscape. The committee pointed out that many of the mining sites for which permits have been issued are located in and adjacent to the streams, resulting in siltation and drying up of the natural streams and rivulets and siltation and destruction of the agricultural lands; the hill ranges supporting lush green forests and biodiversity are being ruthlessly destroyed, resulting in loss of biodiversity and wildlife habitat. Continuation of mining despite the SC directive to DGP and SP concerned points towards a glaring lapse in the compliance mechanism. Strengthening the monitoring and surveillance system is crucial to enforce the SC ban reminded by the CEC in its recommendation. The CEC has also asked KAAC to complete and submit a comprehensive Watershed Drainage Analysis Report by October 2025, clearly identifying all watershed areas draining into the national park. KAAC complying with this directive will be vital for assessing the ground situation and implementation of eco-restoration measures in mining areas and in the landscape. The CEC has categorically instructed that no new mining settlement, lease, or permit shall be issued by the KAAC or any other authority in areas draining into national parks and tiger reserves until the watershed boundaries and areas of concern have been scientifically delineated and verified. Submission of quarterly status reports by KAAC to the CEC through the Chief Secretary as directed by the SC-appointed committee will help strengthen the monitoring mechanism and protect the ecological integrity of the Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong landscape and ensure that initiatives for conservation of its wildlife are sustainable.