Illegal mining: SC issues notice to respondent, seeks reply within four weeks

The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Nainital High Court's order regarding illegal mining in Uttarakhand.

The apex court issued notice to the respondent and directed that a reply in this regard be filed within four weeks.

The High Court had earlier on March 28 directed the state government to take a strict stand on illegal mining and put a stop on such activities in Kosi and Dabka riverbeds with immediate effect.

The High Court also ordered the constitution of a four-member committee - comprising the District Magistrate, senior Superintendent of Police (of Udham Singh Nagar district), a mining official and the divisional forest officer (DFO) of the area - to take action against illegal mining.

Hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), the court also asked the committee to probe how illegal mining was continuing in the state and its impact on local ecology. The court also wanted the committee to recommend a plan to reclaim the mined areas, which normally turn into a waste-land.

The court has given the state government four weeks to submit the report and banned ongoing mining operations till then. It said there would be "complete ban on mining activities including in forest areas, rivers, rivulets and streams in the State of Uttarakhand" till the submission of the report by the high powered committee.