Garhwal Post Bureau
Nainital, 14 Oct: The Uttarakhand High Court heard a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) today, which was initiated on the basis of a letter by Bhuwan Chandra Pokhariya, a resident of Gaulapar, Haldwani, seeking dredging, desilting and flood relief works in the state’s rivers. During the hearing, the Secretaries of Mining, Irrigation and Home joined on the direction of the court via video conferencing and submitted a compliance report. These officers had been summoned by the High Court in an earlier hearing held in this case on 17 September.
In the affidavit submitted on their behalf, it was stated that the government would soon begin dredging and desilting operations and would hold public auctions for the minor minerals extracted during the process. The affidavit also detailed measures being taken to curb illegal mining. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice G Narendar and Justice Subhash Upadhyay, along with the petitioner, expressed satisfaction over the affidavit filed by the Mining Secretary and the other officials. The petitioner urged the Court to direct the commencement of dredging and desilting work by 15 December.
Meanwhile, in compliance with the 17 September order, the Additional Secretary, Mining, has instructed all the districts to proceed with the removal of minor minerals from riverbeds, and undertake dredging and desilting, and extract minerals from dam and bank water areas. These activities are to be carried out under the supervision of district geologists.
The High Court has fixed the next hearing in this PIL on 17 October.
