Thaindian News

New Delhi, May 20 (IANS) The Supreme Court Friday rejected Haryana’s plea of filing a appeal seeking the vacation of its March 18 interim order banning the mining of minor minerals in the state.

The apex court had stayed the operation of the Punjab and Haryana High Court order of March 4 permitting mining activities in the state upto July 31.

The interim stay order was passed by a forest bench comprising Justice B. Sudershan Reddy, Justice R.M. Lodha and Justice S.S. Nijjar.

Rejecting the plea by the Haryana government and the Chandi Mandir Stone Crushers Consumer Company, an apex court bench of Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice Chandramauli Kumar Prasad Friday said the apex court order of March 18 was passed in “public interest”.

The court said that the way the “violation (of environmental laws) was going on, there was a likelihood of the next generation being affected by it”.

The court said it was not satisfied with the grounds on which the Punjab and Haryana High Court permitted the mining and entertained “your application”.

The state government plea seeking the vacation of March 18 interim order was made by Haryana Advocate General H.S. Hooda in the course of the hearing of an application by the Panchkula-based Chandi Mandir Stone Crushers Consumer Company.

The Haryana government provided details of various project which are lying incomplete or are yet to be started because of the absence of building and construction material.

This includes the Western Express Corridor that was planned to divert vehicular traffic going to other states from entering the national capital.