Jodhpur, Oct 26: The Supreme Court on Monday warned that it may order a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into alleged illegal mining and the regularisation of mining areas along the Jojari-Luni-Bandi river system in Rajasthan, questioning why state authorities granted mining leases in areas where illegal mining had been detected, Live Law reported.
Source: Live Law
A bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta, hearing the court's suo motu proceedings on pollution in the river system — which has affected the environment and the lives of approximately 20 lakh people — cautioned that several officials could face serious consequences if the state failed to take corrective action, Live Law reported.
Source: Live Law
“What have you done about providing the statistics of the mining, illegal mining in the rivers? What have you done? You have regularized… We feel that if you don't pull up your socks and don't mend your ways, we'll be compelled to direct a CBI investigation. That would land many of your officers in hot waters,” Justice Mehta told Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for Rajasthan, according to Live Law.
Source: Live Law
The court questioned the state's explanation that it had registered hundreds of cases relating to illegal mining, observing that registering cases did not address the fact that mining areas previously identified as illegal had subsequently been regularised through contiguous leases along the river courses. “Making 20 lakh people live in hell cannot be compared with your economic viability of a few thousand people,” Justice Mehta remarked, Live Law reported.
Source: Live Law
The bench also strongly criticised Rajasthan officials for allegedly misrepresenting the court's earlier directions on demarcating river boundaries in order to narrow the rivers' flow corridors. It pointed out that a bridge across the Luni River at Balotra is approximately 1,782 metres wide, whereas state records indicated a flow width of around eight metres — a discrepancy Justice Mehta called the “height of absurdity”, Live Law and LawBeat reported.
Source: LawBeat
The court accepted the High-Level Ecosystem Oversight Committee's recommendation that the state protect the entire recorded river corridors, using whichever boundary was wider in the records of the Revenue Department and the Water Resources Department. ASG Raju said the state would not grant fresh permissions for industries until the flood lines are scientifically determined, Live Law reported.
Source: Live Law
The court also asked Rajasthan to return at the next hearing with a concrete financial proposal to support common effluent treatment plants with zero-liquid-discharge technology, saying the polluter-pays principle would apply to the state as well as to industries. It warned that if the state failed to come forward with an acceptable proposal, it would turn to the Sanganer industrial area, where, according to the state's own affidavit, nearly 80 per cent of industries were operating without no-objection certificates. The matter will be heard next on November 27, Live Law reported.
Source: Live Law