JK High Court stays Mining Project at Vaishno Devi Hills

Jammu: A Division Bench of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Monday ordered an interim Stay on mining activities in Trikuta Hills on account of environmental and legal concerns.

Chief Justice F.M. Ibrahim Kalifulla and Justice Hasnain Massodi were responding to a Public Interest Litigation  filed by Dewaker Sharma and Vilakshan Singh (advocates) seeking orders  from the court to direct the respondents  not to carry any mining or other activity in the mine lease area belonging to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board in the vicinity of Trikuta Wild Life Sanctuary and extracting Magnasite and setting up of plant of Dead Burnt Magnasite at Chipprian Hills, Chandwan and Panthal Village, Katra in district Reasi of Jammu.

 The petitioners in the Writ Petition has contended that extraction through mining, would not only cause disaster to the ecology and environment of municipal area but it would be in violation of J & K Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1978, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Act, 1988, Constitution of India as applicable to State of J & K and various guidelines of Apex Court issued time and again in catena of judgments.

The petitioners have further prayed before the HC that denotification of Trikuta Wild Life Sanctuary by NBWL  is without jurisdiction  as Indian Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 is not applicable to the State of J&K as J & K  has its own Act which is J&K Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1978. National Board for Wild Life has been constituted under the Indian Wild Life Protection Act, 1972. But the said Act is not applicable to the state of J&K. The sub-section (2) of Section 25-A of J&K Wild Life Protection Act, 1978 provides that “No alteration of the boundaries of a sanctuary shall be made except on the recommendation of the Board and a resolution to this effect passed by both Houses of the State Legislature.”

The petitioners have also argued that no expert opinion was ever sought by SMVDSB regarding the impact of mining on Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine and its Flora and Fauna which is again a failure on the part of a failure on the part of Shrine Board in safeguarding the welfare of property vested to it under Shrine Board Act. The recommendation for denotification and sanction of the NBWL, NATIONAL BOARD FOR WILD LIFE  for setting up plant for setting up of TPA Dead Burnt Magnesia Plant was sought by misrepresentations of  the facts, it was intimated  that it did not involve any felling of trees whereas Shrine Board has itself raised a demand of Rs. 2.36 Crore from NMDC and JKMDC for felled tree and compensatory afforestation.