Cuttack: In a fresh blow to the sand mafia which is causing widespread destruction of river ecosystem and endangering lives of motorists by carrying out deep mining in prohibited areas of riverbeds, a two-judge bench of the Orissa High Court Wednesday stayed the December 21 notification of the Steel and Mines department allowing ‘mechanised mining’.
A division bench of HC, comprising acting Chief Justice BR Sarangi and Justice Murahari Sri Raman, ordered the stay till the next hearing of the issue February 1.
Significantly, the HC had come down heavily on former Cuttack Collector Bhabani Shankar Chayani while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by social activist Prasanta Kumar Jena alleging rampant sand mining in the Millennium City December 2.
Terming the affidavit filed by Chayani on the issue as ‘fake’, the court had observed that the district Collector had been facilitating illegal sand mining by collecting meagre penalties. The top court was also of the view of initiating criminal proceedings against the former Cuttack Collector.
Later, the state government December 19 filed a fresh affidavit informing the court that as many as 14 sand ghats were sealed.
The Mines department, however, came out with a new notification on sand mining December 21. Although guidelines restrict use of machine for sand mining, the Mines department, in its notification, allowed ‘mechanised’ sand lifting in case of excess necessity, sources in know of the development said, adding that the department, however, didn’t elaborate on usage on machine.
In the PIL, Jena informed the court that illegal sand mining and transportation is rampant in many parts of the state, especially in Cuttack.
“The administration has turned a blind eye to the sufferings of people and losses to the environment just to help some unscrupulous sand miners mint money. Though sand should be transported between 10pm and 7am, dishonest elements have been transporting sand day in and day out. Transportation of sand in rush hours has been leading to road mishaps and loss of precious lives,” advocates Sukant Kumar Dalai and Siddhant Kumar Jena said quoting the PIL.
PNN
