Shimla: Taking cognizance of two stone crushers allegedly operating illegally in Rampur sub-division of Shimla district that could cause damage to an underground power house of a mega hydropower plant, the Himachal Pradesh High Court directed the assistant collector, Rampur to decide the case for eviction.
Treating a letter addressed to the chief justice by one Bhagat Ram Bharti, a resident of Rampur, as an public interest litigation that disclosed two stone crushers were allegedly operating illegally, were dangerous and could cause damage to the 1500 MW generation capacity underground power house of the Natpha Jhakri hydropower plant on river Satluj.
In response to the PIL, the state geologist under oath let the court know that stone crusher plant and machinery was set up on forest lands and the foresters needed to assess the damages incurred by the stone crushers.
Before posting the case for 7th May, the court directed the state geologist to assess the damage, considering that the land involved was revenue lands and report back.
As Editor, Ravinder Makhaik leads a team of media professionals at Hill Post.
Spanning a career of over two decades in mass communication, as a Documentary Filmmaker, TV journalist, Print Media journalist and with Online & Social Media, he brings with him a vast experience. He lives in Shimla.
