Legal action against illegal mining beyond jurisdiction: Territorial Army to Uttarakhand HC

Nainital: The Uttarakhand High Court has been informed that though the 27 Infantry Battalion, ECO, Garhwal Rifles was all for environmental protection and water conservation, it did not have jurisdiction to take legal action against unlawful mining activities posing a threat to the Ganga.

The clarification was given by the legal cell of the battalion which is a unit of the Territorial Army before a division bench comprising Justice Ravindra Maithani and Justice Pankaj Purohit on June 18.

The bench was hearing a PIL against illegal mining in the Ganges between Raiwala and Bhogpur alleging that rampant unauthorised quarrying was posing a threat to the river.

During a previous hearing, the high court asked the battalion if it could help in stopping illegal mining in the area in question.

Captain Raghav from the legal cell of the Army's Garhwal region had then appeared via video-conferencing and assured to return to court with an answer.

On Wednesday, however, the high court was informed that though the 27 Infantry Battalion, ECO, Garhwal Rifles actively supported initiatives for environmental protection and water conservation, acting against illegal mining was beyond its jurisdiction.

A senior officer from the battalion is scheduled to brief the court in detail through a formal presentation on the next hearing of the PIL scheduled on June 23.

The PIL filed by Matri Sadan, an ashram involved in environmental protection and others alleges rampant illegal mining in violation of rules, endangering the very existence of the Ganga.

The petitioners prayed for a ban on such illegal mining activities.

They submitted that the Centre had constituted the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) Board with the objective of cleaning and preserving the Ganga.

However, despite repeated directions from NMCG to the state government to prohibit mining in the area, mining activities continued.