Make restoration plans for area ravaged by illegal mining at Nuh in Haryana: SC to CEC
A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and Joymalya Bagchi asked the state government to extend 'due cooperation" to the apex court-appointed CEC in formulating the restoration plans.
The bench took note of the submissions of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the state government, and expressed satisfaction over steps taken so far to remedy the situation.
Advocate Gaurav Bansal represented farmers affected by the illegal mining.
The bench has posted the matter after 12 weeks.
On May 29, the top court came down heavily on the Haryana government for not taking action against mining mafia and its errant officials accused of violating forest laws and facilitating illegal transportation of stones mined from the Aravallis in Nuh to Rajasthan.
It was very critical of the 'evasive' affidavit filed by the chief secretary of Haryana in the matter.
The bench was considering a plea related to construction of an unauthorised 1.5-kilometer road through the protected Aravalli forest land by mining mafia "in collusion with the state government officials" to facilitate illegal transportation of stones mined from the Aravallis in Nuh to Rajasthan.
The CEC had filed a report to this effect.
'From the perusal of the affidavit it is not reflected as to what actions have been taken against the erring officials and the mining mafia who are dishonestly dismantling the hills,' the CJI then said.
The bench subsequently directed the chief secretary to take action against all erring officials and file an affidavit by July 16.
Any further laxity on the part of the government would invite punitive orders from it as permissible under the law, the bench added.
The CEC report, submitted to the apex court on April 15, flagged serious breaches of the Forest Act, 1980, and the Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1900, citing environmental degradation, destruction of wildlife habitat, and administrative inaction.
The road, according to the report, was built using heavy machinery without legal clearances, slicing through notified forest and agricultural land.
The construction, which began in October 2024 and ended in April 2025, disrupted decades-old Aravalli plantations and wildlife corridors, particularly those vital for leopard movement, the report mentioned.
The committee further noted a 'non-cooperative attitude' from senior revenue officials, some of whom allegedly skipped multiple meetings on the issue.
The report hinted at a possible collusion with local "political actors" and mining mafias.
The case stems from a petition filed by residents of Basai Meo village in November last year, alleging that a road illegally constructed through forest and agricultural land was facilitating the transportation of stones mined from the Aravallis in Nuh to Rajasthan via the border village of Biwan.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Indian Express
a few seconds ago
- New Indian Express
SC junks Madras HC order banning use of CM name in schemes
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday quashed the Madras High Court's interim order that restrained the Tamil Nadu government from using Chief Minister M K Stalin's name and image in the 'Ungaludan Stalin' welfare outreach programme. Terming the plea by AIADMK MP C Ve Shanmugam 'totally misconceived' and an abuse of process of law, the apex court imposed a Rs 10 lakh fine on him, to be paid to the state within a week. A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India B R Gavai, and comprising Justices K Vinod Chandran and N V Anjaria, said the practice of naming welfare schemes after political leaders is common across the country, and selectively challenging one such scheme reflects political motive rather than genuine concern. 'We do not appreciate the anxiety of the petitioner to choose only one political party and one political leader,' the bench observed. 'If the petitioner was so concerned about the misuse of public funds, he could have challenged all such schemes.' The court noted that even during the AIADMK's tenure, many schemes were branded after CM J Jayalalithaa as 'Amma' initiatives. Senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the DMK and the state government respectively, cited similar schemes in support of their case.
Scroll.in
a few seconds ago
- Scroll.in
J&K administration bans Arundhati Roy's book, 24 other titles for ‘inciting secessionism'
The Jammu and Kashmir Home Department on Tuesday ordered a ban on 25 books, including works by author and activist Arundhati Roy and former Supreme Court lawyer and constitutional expert AG Noorani. The department, headed by Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, claimed that the books were 'forfeited' for allegedly promoting false narratives and inciting secessionism. Among the titles that have been banned are Roy's Azadi and Noorani's The Kashmir Dispute 1947–2012. Political scientist and academic Sumantra Bose's Kashmir at the Crossroads and journalist Anuradha Bhasin's A Dismantled State are also part of the list, in addition to Do You Remember Kunan Poshpora by Essar Batool and others, Freedom Captivity by Radhika Gupta and Between Democracy and Nation by Seema Kazi. The international books that were banned include Kashmiri-American author Hafsa Kanjwal's Colonizing Kashmir: State-building Under Indian occupation, Haley Duschinski's Resisting Occupation in Kashmir, Victoria Schofield's Kashmir in Conflict and Christopher Snedden's Independent Kashmir. The action was taken under the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita section that authorises the police to seize copies of the books. The home department claimed in its order that 'credible intelligence indicate that a significant driver behind youth participation in violence and terrorism has been the systematic dissemination of false narratives and secessionist literature by its persistent internal circulation'. It further claimed that such literature is 'often disguised as historical or political commentary', but has played a critical role in 'radicalising' the youth of Jammu and Kashmir, allegedly by distorting history, glorifying terrorists, vilifying security forces and promoting religious extremism. Responding to the development, Bhasin said the books banned by the Jammu and Kashmir administration are 'well researched and not one glorifies terrorism, which this government claims to have ended'.
Hans India
a few seconds ago
- Hans India
Bihar SIR: SC seeks EC reply on deletion of 65 lakh voters
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought the reply of the Election Commission of India (ECI) over a plea which alleged that the poll body had not shared the list of names of those who were removed from the Bihar voters' list after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) conducted in the state. A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan, and N K Singh issued the notice on the application filed by NGO ADR. Seeking an urgent hearing, Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for ADR, said, 'We have filed an IA…the draft roll they have published says 65 lakh voters' names have been omitted… They have not given a list of those names…they have said people are dead, have migrated… They should disclose who the 65 lakhs are, who are dead, who have migrated…'. Bhushan said the names have been included in the list without the recommendations of the Booth Level Officers (BLOs). 'BLOs when forwarding the forms have said this person is not recommended by BLO…Whether BLOs have recommended or not recommended… this information will be very important,' Bhushan added. Justice Kant said, according to ECI's Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), every representative of political parties would be provided with the list at the block level. Bhushan, however, claimed that this was not done. 'They have not conveyed. In case they have given to some political party, reasons are not given,' he said. Justice Kant said it was only a draft preliminary list, and reasons may be given when the final list is released. The counsel appearing for the Election Commission said the poll body was obligated to make the draft roll public. He said, 'We can show that we have shared the list with the political party representatives.' The bench asked ECI to state all it had to say in its reply. 'If you have supplied, please give a list of political parties to whom you have supplied, so that Mr Bhushan's client can collect information from those authorised representatives,' said Justice Kant, giving the Commission time till Saturday. Justice Kant added that the court will ensure that every voter who is likely to be affected gets the requisite information.
