Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court has directed the Centre and the Assam government to ensure that no illegal mining activities take place in a forest area under Digboi division in Upper Assam.
A division bench of the Chief Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice Suman Shyam, issued the directive while hearing PILs highlighting the depleting forest cover in the Saleki Proposed Reserve Forest and the illegal mining activities being carried out, particularly attributed to Coal India Ltd.
D.K. Das, the counsel representing the petitioner, had submitted before the court that the ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEF & CC), vide its letter, dated November 17, 2020, written to the deputy conservator of forests, Assam, observed that as Coal India Ltd had been continuing mining operations even after expiry of the original lease period, it should be restrained from carrying out the mining operations in violation of the provisions of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 till all penalties and compensatory levis are deposited and Stage II approval for the project is granted by MoEF & CC.
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