Gauhati HC takes up suo motu case against coal mining in Dehing Patkai

Guwahati, June 4 (PTI): The Gauhati High Court on Thursday issued notices to the Centre, state, Coal India and other stakeholders after taking up a suo motu case against coal mining in the Dehing Patkai forest.

Hearing two public interest litigations (PILs) filed by some advocates and a mountaineer, the bench comprising Chief Justice Ajay Lamba and Justice Soumitra Saikia stated that a suo motu PIL has been registered on receiving a letter from a concerned citizen.

The court issued notices to various central and state government agencies and Coal India Ltd (CIL) and fixed July 20 as the date for next hearing for the suo motu and the other two PILs.

“The chief justice informed us that he has registered a suo motu PIL on the matter. Taking up the three PILs, the bench issued notices to all those concerned from central and state agencies and fixed the next date on July 20,” said Rakhee S Chowdhury, the advocate of one of the public PILs.

Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary is spread across 111.42 sq km, while the Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve with 937 sq km of area is surrounding the sanctuary in its periphery across Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts.

In its last meeting in April, the Standing Committee of the National Board of Wild Life (NBWL) under the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change recommended approval of the CIL’s proposal for legalising illegal mining provided that it fulfills a set of 28 conditions.