Indore | July 27, 2017: The inspection of illegal mining being done on the banks of the Kshipra river can only be completed after the monsoon gets over, Ujjain district collector told the Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh high court in his compliance report.

The division bench of Justice PK Jaiswal and Justice Ved Prakash Singh took the report on record and listed the matter after three months so that further compliance of the order could be done after rains.

The court had passed the order on May 17, 2017, directing formation of a team of district collector, mining officer and petitioner for the inspection work to be finished in one month. However, as the inspection could not be finished within the stipulated time, an extension was sought.

The contempt petition, filed by advocate Lokesh Bhatnagar through Bakir Ali Rangwala raises the issue of illegal mining in Ujjain. It was mentioned in the petition that the mining was against the city's master plan and the Madhya Pradesh minor mineral rules.

The collector has said in the compliance report that due to the slush and rains they could only conduct inspection at one place and not along the entire belt. The punchnama of the same site, where inspection was done by the team, was submitted along with the compliance report.

The petition in which the order for the inspection was passed is pending before the court since 2006. A contempt petition was later filed before the court as the district administration failed to comply with the orders.

The court has on several occasions issued orders directing that no excavation work is to be carried out for the purpose of mining. However, despite the orders, petitioners have produced photographs and details of many such illegal mines still operations in and around Ujjain.

(Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/)