New Delhi, June 8 (IANS) The Supreme Court Friday issued notice to the Rajasthan and Haryana governments on a petition that alleged illegal mining was continuing in the states despite the court's ban.
The petitioner, NGO Society for Awareness and Development, has sought directions to the Haryana government to make stone crushers in districts of Faridabad, Gurgaon, Mewat, Mohindergarh and Bhiwani, all bordering Alwar in Rajasthan, to present their stock registers and supporting documents as evidence of their purchase of raw material from legally mined sources.
An apex court vacation bench of Justice S. Radhakrishnan and Justice J.S. Khehar issued notice to both states on the NGO's petition which said that despite the 2005 and 2010 bans, illegal mining was also going on unabated in 11 villages of Tijara and Bhiwari tehsils of Alwar district in Rajasthan.
The NGO said that illegal mining was going on as the state authorities had turned a blind eye to this, and added that the mining resulted in the death of labourers.
The government by its deliberate and malafide inaction to check illegal mining had rendered ineffective the direction to ban mining, it said.
It referred to a May 18 newspaper report which said that 10 labourers were trapped under debris during illegal mining in Choharpur village of Rajasthan's Alwar district.
The court has directed the matter be posted before the forest bench after the summer vacation.
The NGO said that illegal mining was not only depleting the forest cover but also eroding the Aravali range.
The NGO drew the attention of the court to the report of the central empowered committee on environment matters which pointed to massive illegal mining in reserved forest areas in Udhanwas village.
