Submit reply on soapstone mining causing cracks in Bageshwar: HC to govt

Dehradun: The Uttarakhand high court (HC), while adjudicating a public interest litigation (PIL) concerning soapstone mining in the Kapkot area of Bageshwar, has instructed the govt to furnish a response within four weeks. Previously, the court had designated an amicus curiae and disposed of the PIL based on the investigation report.
The court had directed the state environmental impact assessment authority to arrive at a conclusion, but the petitioner challenged this order in the Supreme Court (SC).The apex court remanded the case back to the HC for a rehearing and affirmed that the embargo on mining would persist. TOI had prominently raised the issue, pointing out that rampant soapstone mining had caused cracks in houses, roads, and buildings in the area, forcing over 200 families to leave their homes.
On Monday, in accordance to the SC's mandate, a bench comprising Chief Justice Ritu Bahri and Justice Rakesh Thapliyal heard the case again and instructed the state environmental department to submit a response within four weeks.
Hira Singh Papola, a Bageshwar resident, had filed the PIL asserting that the govt had granted mining leases in the Reema Valley, Gulam Pragad and Bhyu villages of Kapkot tehsil in the district. He alleged that the mining mafia was carrying out illicit mining beyond the sanctioned quantity and had illegally constructed roads on forest land to transport the mined material. The petitioner also claimed that excessive mining was causing the village's water sources to be depleted.