U'khand HC bans heavy machinery mining in two rivers

The Uttarakhand High Court has banned mining with heavy machines in the Suswa and Song rivers in Dehradun district.

The directive was issued by a division bench of the high court comprising acting chief justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari and justice Vivek Bharti Sharma while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) on Thursday.

However, manual mining in the rivers will continue, the high court said.

It also sought a reply from the state government on this within four weeks.

The PIL filed by Dehradun resident Virender Kumar alleged that the use of heavy machines for mining in the two rivers had lowered their water levels.

Besides, it was damaging agricultural land and reducing availability of water for irrigation purposes in areas adjoining the rivers, the PIL said.

Heavy mechanical mining had also rendered locals jobless as they depended on manual mining for their livelihood, it said.

It was argued in the court on behalf of the state government that the permission for mining in the two rivers with heavy machines had been granted in public interest to remove heavy accumulation of silt, sludge and boulders in the riverbed during monsoon which obstructs their course.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)