RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, April 18: The Jharkhand High Court today directed deputy commissioners of Latehar, Garhwa and Palamu to ensure that no illegal mining takes place in their districts.
A division bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjaya Kumar Mishra gave the direction while hearing a PIL by RTI activist Pankaj Yadav who pointed out rampant illegal mining in those districts through his PIL.
The high court while directing DCs to stop illegal mining also directed a 3-member committee comprising an IG rank police officer and two mining department officers to submit its report before the court by April 26. The committee was constituted by the high court during the last hearing to probe into illegal mining in the district.
Illegal mining is a big issue for Jharkhand, as the ED is probing laundering of money earned by illegal mining. So far many VIPs including chief minister, police officers, mining officers, and senior bureaucrats of the state have come under its ambit and are facing legal action.
