The Centre has deferred environmental clearance for a proposed limestone mine near Great Indian Bustard habitat at Ramgarh in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.
An expert panel of the environment ministry sought changes to the mining plan and stressed that recommendations of the Wildlife Institute of India should be followed. The Great Indian Bustard is critically endangered, with only a small wild population remaining in India.
The case matters beyond one project. India's arid grasslands are often treated as 'wastelands' in land-use decisions even though they support highly specialised biodiversity. Infrastructure, mining and transmission projects therefore raise difficult questions about cumulative ecological impact.