Debashish Karmakar | TNN | Feb 6, 2019, 01:00 IST
PATNA: The Patna high court on Tuesday sought a detailed reply from assistant director of mines and geology department at Gaya within four weeks’ time on illegal stone quarrying in his area.
Dismissing the government’s submission that illegal stone quarrying activities had stopped following change in rules in 2014, the bench of Chief Justice Amrehswar Pratap Sahi and Justice Anjana Mishra relied on the counter affidavits submitted by the petitioner in which he had attached two FIRs dated September 28, 2017 and January 19, 2018 lodged with Mufassil police station against illegal quarrying in the area. The January 19 FIR was lodged by assistant director of mines and geology department, Gaya, against four firms for violation of law.
A battery of lawyers led by advocate general Lalit Kishore failed to convince the court that illegal activates had stopped after changes in mining rules. “Wahi kaarnama fir kaise chal raha hai (How the same illegal activity is going on),” the CJ made an oral observation. He, on record, stated that illegal mining had started in the area again.
Petitioner Jagdish Singh Arya had moved the high court in June 2017 to save human life and environment being destroyed in Lodipur, Bhagalpur, Kaibachak, Murgiachak, Rasuna, Mirzapur and Akkal Bigha areas due to illegal stone quarry. He had demanded a blanket ban on stone mining on more than 1,000 feet high Gere hills in Gaya as it had created a 300 feet deep crater and posed serious threat to human life, agriculture and environment. The petitioner had alleged massive illegal blasting and mining activities hardly 5 metres away from the villages in complete violation of Section 106(2)(b) of Metalliferous Mines Regulation Act, 1961, which prohibited any quarrying activities within 300 metres of habitation.
Sheikh Arkan Ahmed, who represented the petitioner, said 48 acre was leased by the government to different firms for quarrying, but they were carrying out their illegal activities in over 150 acre area. “Altogether 40 illegal crushers were stopped by the administration after the high court notice,” he said.
Earlier, the state government had submitted before the court in December 2017 that the petitioner had filed the PIL on the basis of wrong facts and action must be taken against him as no illegal activities were taking place in the area anymore. The court had then sought reply from the petitioner why coercive action should not be taken against him.
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