Uttarakhand HC orders immediate closure of 48 stone crushers in Haridwar
The court passed the order owing to non-compliance with its earlier directions in this regard.
It also asked the authorities concerned to submit an action taken report regarding the matter within a week.
The matter will be heard next on September 12, the court said.
The order was issued by a division bench of the high court comprising Justice Ravindra Maithani and Justice Pankaj Purohit while hearing a PIL filed by a Haridwar-based organisation called Matri Sadan.
The organisation has been raising the issue of illegal mining along the Ganga river from Raiwala to Bhogpur and in the Kumbh Mela area in Haridwar.
In its petition, Matri Sadan alleged that illegal mining is being carried out in violation of the rules from Raiwala to Bhogpur along the Ganga and even in the Kumbh fair area.
The petition also stated that the National Mission for Clean Ganga under the central government has repeatedly issued guidelines in this regard, but they have been ignored and stone crushers continue to operate, posing a threat to the river.
The court observed that non-compliance with its directions amounts to contempt of court.
The court further directed the district magistrate and senior superintendent of police of Haridwar to disconnect the power and water supply to these stone crushers immediately.
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