High Court closes PIL on illegal mining in J&K

Srinagar, Nov 2: The High Court of J&K and Ladakh closed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking its intervention for effective steps to arrest illegal mining in Jammu and Kashmir.

Filed in 2016 by an NGO, Peoples Forum, the PIL had sought the court’s intervention for “enforcement of Mines & Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, Mineral Concession Rules, 1960 and the Mineral Conservation and Development Rules, 1988.

The PIL had highlighted that no effective steps were taken to implement statutory provisions and rules for mining in J&K.

It had raised a serious concern of environmental degradation and adverse impact on the ecology, landscape and habitation because of the indiscriminate illegal mining activity saying the matter was of very serious concern.

While closing the PIL, a division bench of Chief Justice Tashi Rabstan and Justice Puneet Gupta concluded that “no further proceedings were required to be conducted in the plea”.

“After having considered the submissions made at the Bar and also having gone through the pleadings on the file, we are of the firm opinion that the issues raised in the writ petition by the petitioner about implementation of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, Mineral Concession Rules, 1960 and the Mineral Conservation and Development Rules, 1988, are being taken due care by the respondents (authorities) and in view thereof the issues raised by the petitioner does not survive anymore,” the bench said.

The Court, however, left it free for the Forum to agitate the issues before the concerned authorities in future, if any.

The Court referred to a report filed by the Under Secretary to the Government Industries and Commerce Department in compliance with its directions in July 2019 that had indicated that the issues raised in the PIL had been examined in light of the various Acts and the Rules governing the mining activities in Jammu and Kashmir.

In the compliance report, the government submitted that the department had posted District Mineral Officers in every District who are responsible to monitor and ensure that mining activities in their respective districts are strictly being carried out in accordance with the Acts and the Rules.

The report underscored that sensitization and awareness programmes among the mine owners and workers are being regularly carried out by the Department. It also divulged that the Government has also constituted a “The Multi Departmental District Level Task Force Cell” under the Chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner concerned. Moreover, the report pointed out that immediate actions were being taken by the department against the violators by issuing notices besides directing suspension of the mining operations.

The government in the report stated that while taking cognizance of the unsafe and dangerous mining practices, mining activities in the three quarry belts of Athwajan and Panthachowk areas of the Srinagar District, the same were banned.

In order to monitor the major mineral mines throughout the Country, the government said, the Indian Bureau of Mines GOI, in the year 1917, launched a Geo-spatial satellite-based Mine Surveillance System and the Department of Geology and Mining uploaded all the geo-referenced details of Limestone Mining leases on the MSS and IBM and are regularly monitoring the mining activities of major minerals in the Union Territory.

The government also said that to prevent environmental degradation and adverse impacts on ecology, landscape and habitation, the State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) has been constituted under the Environment Protection Act, 1986, and compliance with the Environmental Acts and Rules is monitored by the Authority and the Department of Environment and State Pollution Control Board.