Uttarakhand High Court seeks reply on plea challenging state govt's dredging policy

     Nainital, May 11 (PTI) The Uttarakhand High Court on Wednesday asked both the state government and the Centre to file a reply within four weeks on a PIL that sought a stay on the state's dredging policy alleging it encourages illegal river mining.
     The PIL filed by an institution called Matri Sadan in Haridwar which is actively associated with the cause of saving the Ganga claimed that illegal river mining is being encouraged in the state under the garb of Uttarakhand State Dredging Policy 2021.
     Hearing the PIL, acting Chief Justice Sanjay Kumar Mishra and Justice RC Khulbe directed the Uttarakhand Government, the Centre and the central and state pollution control boards to file their replies within four weeks.
     The petition claims that the river dredging policy provides that the river which is to be dredged will be surveyed first. Dredging will then be done to the extent that the flow of the river is not obstructed.
     The material that comes out in the process will be collected on the banks of the river. However, this raw material will not be transported unless the state government permits it.
     However, the petition alleges that the state government is using the raw material commercially under the guise of river dredging.
     Therefore, on behalf of the petitioner, a stay was sought on the policy. PTI Corr ALM ALM RT
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)