Illegal miner earning Rs 1.5 lakh daily alarming: High Court to Punjab
Citing reports regarding the arrest of a Moga resident found earning over Rs 1.5 lakh daily through illegal sand mining, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has expressed concerns over the "alarming scale of unchecked mining operations in the state".
Justice Sandeep Moudgil rapped the state for its inability to combat rampant illegal mining and warned that the activity could wreak havoc on the environment and the state's security if left unregulated.
Taking up an anticipatory bail plea, Justice Moudgil made it clear that illegal mining had escalated at a dangerous pace, with the state failing to enforce regulatory measures. The Bench added that unplanned mining, a multi-crore industry, could cause severe ecological damage by altering the natural course of river flow, increasing the risk of floods in surrounding areas.
In his detailed order, Justice Moudgil asserted that sand mining, undoubtedly being a “lucrative industry worth crores of rupees,” had become a significant problem in present times, “causing damage to the environment at large and losses to the state exchequer.”
“This court is very much sanguine of the fact that rampant mining in Punjab has risen high in no time and one such instance has been reported recently wherein a resident of Moga, who was arrested by the Jalandhar Rural Police for illegal sand mining and threatening toll plaza employees at gunpoint, used to earn a profit of Rs 1.5-2 lakh daily by selling sand in the open market. Having said so, it shows the inability of the state government to combat illegal mining which if kept unchecked, would cause havoc in no time to the environment as well as the state's security,” Justice Moudgil added.
The accused in the case was seeking anticipatory bail in a case registered on August 19, 2023, under the provisions of the IPC and Mines and Minerals (Regulation of Development) Act, 1957, at Mullanpur police station in Mohali district. The state’s stand in the matter was that the petitioner had obstructed the forest department officials from performing their duty by abusing and threatening them. A tractor-trolley and stolen sand was yet to be recovered.
“In view of the seriousness of the allegations, the custodial interrogation of the petitioner is certainly required to unfold the illegal activities prevailing in the Punjab causing devastating effect to the environment. Therefore, in the interest of environment and gravity of the offence involved, I find no merit in the petition and the same is hereby dismissed,” Justice Moudgil concluded.
