Milakh Raj & Others vs State Of Uttarakhand & Others

Ramesh Ranganathan, CJ

This Writ Petition is filed, in public interest, seeking a writ of mandamus directing the respondents-authorities to forthwith stop the grant of further licenses for establishing of new stone-crushers and screening plants; a writ of mandamus directing the respondents to reconsider the sanctioned limit for buying of river bed material of the existing stone-crushers and screening plants; a writ of mandamus, directing the respondents, to forthwith stop sanctioning and collection of stock of river bed material by private individuals/entrepreneurs; and a writ of mandamus directing the respondents to forthwith stop making/construction of path/road inside the forest area for the benefit of stone-crushers.

We had, in our order dated 22.07.2019, noted that, while extraction of river-bed material from the river 'Kosi' is the prerogative of the Uttarakhand Forest Development Corporation, on permission being accorded to them to do so, regulation of stone-crusher units was to be undertaken by the Government of Uttarakhand; while the data, furnished in the affidavit filed before the Court, indicated that the licensed capacity of stone-crusher units was lower than the annual quantity permitted to be extracted from the river-bed, the affidavits did not detail the checks put in place to ensure that illegal mining of river-bed material was not carried on in the river 'Kosi'; and the stone-crusher units, in turn, did not procure river-bed material of more than their licensed capacity, or crush and sell the crushed material in excess of their licensed capacity. We had called upon both the Government of Uttarakhand and the Uttarakhand Forest Development Corporation to file their respective affidavits about the checks put in place to prevent illegal extraction of river-bed material from the 'Kosi' river; and to prevent illegal procurement, crushing and sale by the stone-crushers.

Pursuant thereto, the Government of Uttarakhand has filed its supplementary counter-affidavit dated 02.08.2019 wherein it is stated that, for preventing illegal mining/extraction of river-bed material, the Government had promulgated the Uttarakhand Minerals (Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage) Rules, 2005 as amended from time to time; Rule 13(2)(B) provides for payment of penalty/fine of upto Rs.2.00 lakhs on illegal mining; the said penalty/fine would be recovered by the department under the provisions of Sections 21(2) and 21(5) of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957; necessary provisions have been made in the Rules to prevent illegal transportation of minerals; Rule 13(2)(h)(2) of the 2005 Rules provides that, if any person is found transporting illegal minerals one to three times, penalty/fine would be imposed on him under Rule 13(h)(1), and if the same person is found to be carrying illegal mineral the fourth time, then his vehicle would be forfeited; for prevention of illegal mining, transportation and storage, one team would be constituted in every district consisting of officers of the Revenue Department, Mining Department, Forest Department and the Police Department; the aforesaid team, so constituted for the purpose of preventing illegal mining/transportation/storage, would make random inspection of the site; apart from the above, the District Mine Officer, and the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, would also make random inspection from time to time; if any person is found to be transporting mineral, without there being any transportation pass/e-ravanna, he would be booked under the relevant provisions of the Rules; the department has made it compulsory to install CCTV cameras at the entry and exit gates of the leased area for prevention of illegal mining/transportation/storage; the 2016 license policy was made to prevent illegal mining/transportation by stone-crushers; under the policy, it is compulsory to install CCTV cameras, at the entry gates of the stone-crushers, by stone-crusher owners; provision has been made for providing a CD, containing monthly recording, to the District Magistrate of the concerned district, and to the District Mine Officer; the process of Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping in the mining areas, and stone-crusher/screening plant places, is under progress; by GIS mapping, the online real time data of the mining areas and stone-crusher/screening plants would be available, which would help in preventing illegal mining/storage and transportation; for supervision of the process of allotment of lots, and to supervise all activities of the lease holders, an e-application software is being developed with the help of National Informatics Centre (NIC); implementation of the aforesaid software would be helpful for the Government in taking a policy decision, and to increase the working capacity; it would also be helpful in preventing illegal mining/transportation/storage; for the ensuing mining season from 01.10.2019 to 30.06.2020, it is proposed to implement the vehicle tracking system for supervision of transportation of vehicles, so that illegal mining/transportation is prevented; for effective prevention of illegal mining, transportation and storage, the Government has proposed to constitute a District Anti Illegal Mining Force under the directions and control of the Director, Geology and Mining (at the State level), and the District Magistrate (at the district level); and in the proposed posts of the aforesaid force, (Anti Illegal Mining Force), officers of the police department/home department would be taken on deputation.

While the supplementary counter-affidavit filed by the State Government does reflect several steps having been taken to prevent illegal mining of minerals, more so from within the forest boundaries and in the river 'Kosi', the supplementary counter-affidavit does not stipulate any time frame within which the District Anti Illegal Mining Force would be constituted. We had, therefore, called upon Mr. S.S. Chauhan, learned Deputy Advocate General, to ascertain, from the Government, the time frame within which the District Anti Illegal Mining Force would be constituted in terms of what has been stated in the supplementary counter-affidavit filed by them before this Court.

Today Mr. S.S. Chauhan, learned Deputy Advocate General appearing for the State, on instructions, would submit that, since the matter involves examination by several departments of the Government, it is not possible for the State Government to stipulate any time frame within which the District Anti Illegal Mining Force would be constituted.

Rampant illegal mining in the State has resulted not only in the loss of precious revenue to the Government, but also in the environmental degradation. While the carrying capacity of minerals in the river has been computed, adequate systems have not yet been put in place to ensure that illegal quarrying of minerals is prevented, and to ensure that neither is river-bed material quarried in excess of the prescribed quantity nor the stone-crushers utilize river-bed material beyond their licensed capacity. Establishment of the District Anti Illegal Mining Force, in each district, would go a long way in preventing illegal mining of river-bed material which adversely affects the river and its course.

The Government, despite being called upon, to indicate the time frame within which the District Anti Illegal Mining Force would be constituted, has expressed its inability to do so. Since the need for constitution of a District Anti Illegal Mining Force, to prevent illegal quarrying of river-bed material, is of utmost urgency, we direct the respondents-State to constitute the District Anti Illegal Mining Force, in all districts of the State, to prevent illegal quarrying of river-bed material at the earliest, and in any event, within six months from the date of production of a certified copy of this order.

The Writ Petition is disposed of accordingly.

Mr. S.R.S. Gill, learned counsel for the petitioner-appellant and Mr. S.S. Chauhan, learned Deputy Advocate General appearing for the State, would submit that, in the light of the order now passed by us in Writ Petition (PIL) No.107 of 2018, no further orders need be passed in the other connected matters.

All the connected Writ Petitions and the Special Appeals are, accordingly, closed. No costs.