Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Sept 23: High Court today directed the Government to frame a policy on creating of stone crusher zones and hot-wet mix plants.
A Division Bench of High Court comprising Chief Justice M M Kumar and Justice D S Thakur directed that “the stone crusher and hot-wet mix plant zones have to be identified keeping in view various parameters and conformity of other pollution control laws”.
“We feel there is lack of directions as there is no policy decision framed by the State,” the Bench said.
Hearing arguments during the proceedings of Public Interest Litigation about encroachment around Mavar nallah amd Kcsharai land in tehsil Handwara of district Kupwara, the Bench rapped the Pollution Control Board authorities for not cooperating and adhering to the court orders.
“PCB is not fair in filing affidavits before us. They are in favour of unit holders…we will not allow any unit to operate in and around the nallah,” the court observed.
The Bench also directed the Advocate General M I Qadri to call Chief Secretary to make a data bank to effectively identify the surplus of material extracted which may be marketed by the state by all acceptable methods.
The court also directed Advocate Ghulam Murtaza for petitioner to file affidavit in response to the affidavit filed by PCB and SP Handwara after counsel Murtaza expressed dissatisfaction of reports of officials alleging a large number of stone crushers which cause pollution in the nallah have come up without NOC’s.
The court directed that the reports should be filed within 4 weeks.
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