Taking serious note of illegal mining activities along the Ganga river between Raiwala and Bhogpur, the Uttarakhand High Court has pulled up the authorities for their failure to relocate 121 stone crushers operating in Haridwar district to beyond 5 kilometers from the riverbank.

A division bench comprising Justice Ravindra Maithani and Justice Pankaj Purohit was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) concerning rampant illegal mining in the ecologically sensitive stretch of the Ganga.

The Court questioned why, despite earlier directions from both the High Court and the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the administration had not yet identified alternative locations for shifting the stone crushers.

Expressing strong displeasure, the bench remarked that the continued inaction by authorities amounts to a clear disregard for judicial orders and poses a serious threat to the river’s ecosystem.

“Why have suitable locations for the relocation of stone crushers not been identified even after our previous directions and the orders of the NGT?” the Court asked.

The matter is likely to be taken up further in the coming days as the Court seeks accountability from concerned officials and concrete steps toward compliance with environmental safeguards.