Wetlands Mapping: Supreme Court Gives States 4 Months to Finish
Image: Wikimedia Commons (file photo, Mangalajodi wetlands, Chilika Lake, Odisha)
The Supreme Court has ordered every state to finish ground-truthing of its wetlands within four months, nine years after the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 required the work to start. In an order dated 12 October 2026 in a long-running wetlands case, the court also told states to file affidavits within four weeks on how far the exercise has got, according to the order and a Down To Earth court digest published on 21 October.
Small Wetlands and Other Waterbodies Included
Ground-truthing means checking on the spot whether a wetland shown on a satellite atlas actually exists, and marking its boundary. The court said states must also identify, specify and mark other waterbodies in their reports, not only the notified wetlands. It noted that wetlands smaller than 2.25 hectares have to be identified too.
The court pointed out that states had not completed the documentation required under Rule 7(1)(a) even though nine years had passed since the rules were published. Without verified boundaries, a wetland has little protection against encroachment or filling, because officials have no map to enforce.
Five Earlier Orders, Same Direction
This is not the first time the court has pressed states. The order refers to earlier directions dated 11 December 2024, 19 August 2025, 7 October 2025, 28 October 2025 and 28 July 2026.
Affidavits Due in About Four Weeks
States now have four weeks from 12 October to file their status affidavits, which puts the deadline in the second week of November, and four months to complete ground-truthing. The reports and the next hearing date were not given in the digest. Read more court-driven environment stories in our Daily Updates section.
Source: Supreme Court order, 12 October 2026. Also based on reporting by Down To Earth and Plutus IAS.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
