Stone crushers’ distance from water bodies being re-assessed

Ambika Sharma

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Tribune News Service

Solan, August 25

With the National Green Tribunal (NGT) directing the state government to close all stone crushers lying within 100 m distance of water bodies in the state, an exercise to re-assess the distance of these stone crushers was being undertaken in the state.

The Additional Chief Secretary, Industries, has directed the state geologist to provide the latest data of stone crushers with the factual position. All mining officials in the districts have been directed to undertake fresh inspection of the stone crushers in their respective areas and submit a report. Various criteria like location of the stone crusher i.e., its latitude and longitude, actual distance from the perennial stream measured from the bank of river to the outer periphery of the stone crusher as well as the non-perennial stream were being taken into account by the field officials informed an official.

This will help the state government to re-assess the situation and explore options to get some relief from the stone crushers which were a potential source of revenue for the state government. Industries Minister Bikram Thakur has already stated that they would seek review of the National Green Tribunal’s decision.

Officials said since the state had a predominantly hilly terrain this blanket ban on stones crushers both from perennial as well as non-perennial sources was not just for Himachal. If both the criteria were taken into consideration, it would lead to closure of at least 70 per cent units and would also cause loss of employment and revenue to the state government while promoting illegal operations.

Officials also said that factors like distance from the main rivers and primary and secondary tributaries should have been taken into account in Himachal by the tribunal as there were a large number of seasonal rivulets which did not flow round the year. They added that operating a stone crusher in its vicinity would cause little environmental damage.

There were more than 300 stone crushers in the state and the state government was keen to provide relief to their owners as several politicians owned them.

The NGT had ruled that a stone crusher set up within 100 meters of a rivulet will be illegal and in violation of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 in order to protect the ecology of the water body.

The state government had been directed to take steps to stop operations of all such stone crushers.