HC permits govt to auction sand, gravel mines in 5 districts

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday allowed the Punjab government to auction sand and gravel mines in five districts.

A division bench headed by Justice Rajive Bhalla said this while hearing a bunch of petitions related to illegal mining and operation of brick kilns. The bench directed that the auction should be conducted in accordance with the rules and regulations and after obtaining environment clearance. The Punjab government was also asked to properly demarcate mining land and ensure that all state and district level committees check illegal mining.

On September 21, the state had informed the court that it had postponed the auction of mines in Jalandhar, Mohali, Kapurthala, Ludhiana and Hoshiarpur — scheduled for September 25, 26 and 27 — as per a court notice issued on September 9.

The Punjab government had postponed the auction process after one Darshan Singh and others approached the high court alleging that notice for the auction of mines was against the provisions of Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act-1957 and Punjab Minor Mineral Concession Rules-1964.

The case will come up for hearing on February 7, 2013.

Amritsar trust scam: high court shifts trial

The Punjab and Haryana High Court, on Friday, directed the Mohali court to transfer the trial of the Amritsar Improvement Trust Scam (AIT) from the court of Additional District Judge Rajinder Aggarwal to the senior-most judge of the court. A petition filed by former Punjab Chief Minister and president Punjab Pardesh Congress Committee (PPCC) Amarinder Singh, seeking shifting of the trial outside Punjab, came up for hearing before Justice K C Puri. Capt Amarinder had submitted that the trial of the case could not be held in a fair manner as public prosecutor might follow the diktats of the state authorities.

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