Allow mining as per unamended provisions: HC to Bihar govt

The Patna High Court today directed the Bihar government to ensure that mining of sand was "permitted to continue in accordance with the unamended statutory provisions".
It further said that "any action in creating a hindrance shall be viewed seriously and the officer concerned shall be held personally responsible for the same".
A division bench headed by Chief Justice Rajendra Menon passed the order on a bunch of petitions filed by Pushpa Singh and others.
The court also took a strong note of the fact that despite an earlier order passed by it on November 27, 2017, whereby the Bihar Minor Mineral Rules 2017 were stayed, executive orders in violation of the same were issued on November 28.

The court directed the Principal Secretary, Department of Mines and Geology, K K Pathak, and the department's Under Secretary, Sushil Kumar, who had passed the aforesaid orders, to file affidavits, explaining "how and under what compelling circumstances" they had passed the orders.
"In case this court is not satisfied with the explanation and the justification given by the officers, it may consider initiating contempt action against the officers for their act," the bench said.

The court also ordered that the affidavits filed by the two officers be "vetted by the chief secretary", before being submitted on the next date of hearing on December 18.

The new mining policy of the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar, which was brought in with an aim to put a check on the illegal sand and stone chips trade in the state, has become a major bone of contention with opposition parties such as the RJD alleging that it has hampered the construction activities and rendered thousands of workers jobless.
The stringent conditions laid down for the transportation of sand had also led to a strike last month by the truck operators across the state.