In a decisive move, the Uttarakhand High Court has ordered an immediate cessation of all mining activities in the Bageshwar district after a damning report highlighted extensive damage to local dwellings due to sandstone mining. The court’s directive, issued on January 6 by a bench led by Chief Justice Guhanathan Narendar and Justice Manoj Tiwari, came in response to findings presented by court-appointed commissioners Mayank Joshi and Shaurin Dhulia.
The detailed report revealed alarming evidence of structural damage in the Banda area of the district, with numerous houses displaying significant cracks on their walls, a direct consequence of the unchecked mining operations. In response, the High Court has summoned the director of the geology and mining department, the secretary of the industrial development department, and the district magistrate to appear before it on January 9.
“The findings of this report are not only alarming but also shocking,” stated the High Court during the proceedings. “The photographs and narratives provided clearly demonstrate the lawless manner in which mining has been conducted in the area.”
The court criticized the local administration for its apparent negligence, accusing officials of turning a “blind eye to the transgression.” The report also suggested that continued mining could potentially trigger landslides, posing a grave threat to human life. “The irony of trained officers permitting such destructive mining operations directly beneath village hillocks, which have habitations on the top, is stark and troubling,” the court noted.
This judicial intervention originated from a suo moto case taken up by the High Court after news reports surfaced about the development of structural cracks in several villages of Kanda Tehsil due to steatite or soapstone mining activities. A previous bench, consisting of acting Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari and Justice Pankaj Purohit, had commissioned the report to better understand the villagers’ grievances and assess the impact of mining operations.
