AHMEDABAD | Dec 21, 2017: Gujarat high court has sounded a warning against indiscriminate illegal sand mining in riverbed in Gujarat and made certain norms more stringent to curb the activity.

In an order passed on Tuesday, the HC has observed, "Illegal mining in the state of Gujarat, more particularly, the riverbed mining is at a rampage. Such indiscriminate and illegal riverbed mining has cleared a lot of ecological imbalance."

The case in hand was about seizure of a truck that was caught while being illegally used in sand mining. Truck owner had urged the high court to release the vehicle. Justice J B Pardiwala said that indulging in such an activity is an offence under the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act and IPC. The court said that in ordering interim release of such vehicles, courts should impose the minimum condition of furnishing a running bank guarantee or an unconditional bank guarantee to the tune of 1.5 times the value of the vehicle.

The judge said, "I am concerned with the case of illegal mining and the power of the court to release the vehicle seized by the police or any authorised officer pending the confiscation proceedings or the trial. The Supreme Court had the occasion to consider the ill effects of illegal felling of trees in the forests and the offences relating to the same."

Expressing its concern about ecological imbalance, the HC said, "The minerals are non-renewable and limited natural resources and constitute vital raw materials in a number of basic and important industries. The extraction of minerals from nature often creates imbalances, which adversely affect the environment. The key environmental impacts of mining are of wildlife and fishery habitats, the water balance, local climates and the pattern of rainfall, sedimentation, the depletion of forests and disruption of the ecology."

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