The Army affidavit was submitted before the HC on August 26. (Express/File)The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday stayed mining activities in the Ravi riverbed in Punjab border districts of Gurdaspur and Pathankot. The HC direction came in a 2012 petition seeking crackdown on illegal mining in Punjab. The PIL (public interest litigation) was filed by Gurbir Singh Pannu.
Meanwhile, a written order of the bench is still awaited.
The Indian Army had raised concerns over ‘cross-border infiltration’ due to ‘illegal mining’ in the border districts of Punjab.
The Indian Army in its affidavit placed before the HC had stated, “Illegal mining has been a facilitating factor towards the nexus among drug smugglers, terrorists and anti-national elements operating in the hinterland, nurtured and controlled by the ISI.”
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The affidavit was submitted before the bench of Chief Justice Ravi Shanker Jha and Justice Arun Palli by Captain Ashima Das, Officer In-charge PH and HP (I) Sub Area, Station HQ, Chandimandir, on behalf of the Army.
Senior government counsel Arun Gosain placed before the bench affidavits filed by the Army and the BSF.
As per the Army affidavit, illegal mining across Ravi river adjacent to the International Border (IB) with Pakistan in Pathankot and Gurdaspur has certain implications. “Ditches and gorges, which are formed as a result of illegal mining, facilitate cross-border infiltration. Unplanned and uncontrolled mining may cause changes in the natural water drainage and even change the course of the river, resulting in Army posts being susceptible to flooding.”
The Army affidavit was submitted before the HC on August 26. The Border Security Force (BSF) also submitted its affidavit before the HC.
The BSF affidavit – submitted by Anand Singh, DIG (Principal Staff Officer), BSF, Punjab Frontier Jalandhar – read, “The sand mining is going on unabated and unchecked in Ravi river in close proximity to the International Border.
Besides affecting the future course of Ravi river, it is posing a huge threat to the security of IB fence. The mining/excavation starts before sunrise and goes on till late night, sometimes even whole night. Presence of hundreds of labourers, whose antecedents have not been verified by the local police, so close to IB is perceived to be a big security hazard. In recent days, there have been many drone incursions from Pakistan, where the possibility of dropping contrabands, arms/ammunition at their camp site/vehicles cannot be ruled out. In this regard, information has already been given to the civil administration from time to time.”
The BSF affidavit added that “unabated sand mining in the riverbed through JCB and several heavy duty excavator machines can jeopardise the security of the border areas… Tunnel from Pakistan can come up in these areas. Anti-social elements/terrorists may reach/approach the IB fence in the guise of local people/mining workers, when the mining is carried out near the IB fence. BSF will find it difficult to identify the culprit…”
The BSF also submitted in the affidavit that “in hinterland area of 10 Battalion BSF, though activities regarding illegal mining in the river belt area is low, unnecessary and unwarranted movement of civilians along the banks of Ravi river can cause disturbance in the area…”
The Punjab government also submitted its affidavit before the HC. The affidavit – filed by Krishan Kumar, Principal Secretary to Government of Punjab, Department of Water Resources Mining and Geology – mentioned that to resolve the issues of BSF with regard to mining in the area of Gurdaspur and Pathankot, the Punjab government officials, along with BSF officials and district mining officers of Gurdaspur/Pathankot, visited the sites of Muthi, Samrala and Sarotain located in the border areas of Pathankot. The Punjab government further stated in the affidavit that a meeting was also held with SSP Pathankot who assured the BSF that identification of the labourers would be done immediately and their records would be provided to the BSF office.
However, reacting to the reply filed by the Punjab government, the HC in an oral observation said that there is not a single word on how the government is planning to stop illegal mining in the riverbeds, and what is keeping the officers of Punjab so busy that they are not taking any action on such a serious issue?
The Punjab government is so engrossed that the court has to intervene and make it aware of the fact that the state is a part of the country and illegal mining is a threat to the country. Thus, the HC stayed the mining activities in the districts of Pathankot and Gurdaspur.