HC stays mining across Ravi river in Punjab’s Pathankot, Gurdaspur

BSF and Army say unchecked sand mining by heavy duty excavators can jeopardise security of border areas

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday stayed all types of mining activities across the Ravi river bed in Punjab’s Pathankot and Gurdaspur districts, which share international border with Pakistan.

The directions came from Chief Justice Ravi Shanker Jha and Justice Arun Palli during the hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by Gurbir Singh Pannu in 2012, surrounding illegal mining in Punjab.

Notably, the affidavits filed by the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Army pointed out that ‘unabated’ and ‘unchecked’ sand mining on the Ravi river bed by several heavy duty excavators could jeopardise the security of the border areas.

During the course of hearing, the High Court had on July 25 called for a report form the BSF and the Army among other authorities with regard to security threat along the International Border (IB) in Pathankot and Gurdaspur due to illegal mining.

“The court has stayed all types of mining across the river bed of Ravi in Pathankot and Gurdaspur districts for now. A detailed order is awaited,” Arun Gosain, counsel for the Central Government, told The Hindu.

In its affidavit, the BSF said sand mining was going on unabated and unchecked in the Ravi in close proximity to the IB in the area of responsibility of 73 Battalion BSF under the Gurdaspur sector. Besides affecting the future course of the river, it was posing a huge threat to the security of IB fence, it said.

“The mining/excavation starts before sunrise and goes on till late night, sometimes even whole night. The presence of hundreds of labourers, whose antecedents have not been verified by the local police, so close to the IB is perceived to be a big security hazard. In recent days, there has been many drone incursions from Pakistan, where the possibility of dropping contraband, arms and ammunition at their camp site vehicles cannot be ruled out. In this regard, information has already been given to civil administration from time to time,” added the affidavit.