State how mining can be done legally along Pakistan border, HC asks defence ministry
The directions were issued during resumed hearing of a 2013 plea on the issue of illegal mining in the state. It was in July that the issue of illegal mining in borders areas had cropped up, which resulted in the HC seeking reports from various agencies.
The Punjab and Haryana high court has directed the defence ministry to take a decision on how mining can be carried out legally in Punjab along the international border.
The high court bench of acting chief justice Ritu Bahri and justice Nidhi Gupta has directed that the high court should be informed about the decision by December 13.
The directions were issued during resumed hearing of a 2013 plea on the issue of illegal mining in the state. It was in July that the issue of illegal mining in borders areas had cropped up, which resulted in the HC seeking reports from various agencies. Subsequently, the high court had restrained the Punjab government from allowing mining along the Ravi river in Pathankot and Gurdaspur along the international border with Pakistan after the army and the Border Security Force (BSF) in their reports to the high court had termed it a threat to the national security.
In its latest report to the high court, the ministry of environment, forest and climate change has stated that the ministry of defence has issued guidelines on “security consideration on construction activities/other activities along border areas”.
As per guidelines, all activities connected with mining within 20 km from all the borders, including the seaboard frontier, should be planned in consultation with the ministry. The court observed that for the last 10 years mining has been going on in the border areas of Punjab. Hence directed the defence ministry that these guidelines and reports of the army, BSF and other agencies be considered, and a decision be taken how mining can be carried out legally in the border areas.
In its report, the BSF had said in August that besides posing a huge threat to ecology, mining is also posing a threat to the security of the international border.
The army had said that ditches and gorges which are formed as a result of illegal mining facilitated cross-border infiltration. Unplanned and uncontrolled mining may cause changes in the natural water drainage and even change the course of river resulting in army posts being susceptible to floods. Illegal mining has been a facilitating factor towards the nexus between drugs smugglers, terrorists and anti-national elements, operating in the hinterland, nurtured and controlled by the Pakistani spy agency, ISI, it had stated.
