Ranchi, March 12 – Taking a strong view of the rising air pollution and illegal mining activities in Dhanbad, the Jharkhand High Court on Thursday directed the administration to appear before it during a hearing on a public interest litigation (PIL).
A division bench, headed by Chief Justice M.S. Sonak, directed the Deputy Commissioner and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Dhanbad, the Member Secretary of the Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board, and the Municipal Commissioner of Dhanbad to appear in person before the court on April 2.
The court also summoned the Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD) of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) to appear and submit suggestions on how to curb pollution in the coal mining belt.
During the hearing, the bench observed that the deteriorating air quality in Dhanbad, coupled with reports of rampant illegal mining and the transportation of illegally extracted coal, was a matter of serious concern.
Questioning the role of the police, the court said there appeared to be no effective or visible steps being taken to curb illegal mining in the region.
The bench expressed concern that increasing levels of coal dust have significantly worsened pollution in Dhanbad. It said this has posed serious health risks to residents, including respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
During the proceedings, advocate Amit Kumar Das, representing BCCL, informed the court that the company has been developing parks by filling abandoned open-pit mines as part of efforts to improve environmental conditions.
BCCL also told the court that it had lodged several FIRs to curb illegal mining, but alleged that the police had not taken adequate action on those complaints.
The company had also filed a separate petition on the issue, which the court ordered to be tagged with the main PIL filed by the Rural Unity Forum.
Earlier, the court, during a hearing, had asked the District Mining Officer to submit what steps he had taken to curb illegal mining in Dhanbad. However, the affidavit filed by the state government claimed that pollution was under control, but did not provide specific details regarding action against illegal mining.
The petitioner, Rural Unity Forum, told the court that the Dhanbad Municipal Corporation and the district administration had failed to effectively address the pollution crisis. It is alleged that most measures to control pollution existed only on paper and had not resulted in any visible improvement on the ground.
BCCL, for its part, maintained that coal transportation is being carried out under proper cover and that water sprinkling and regular monitoring are being undertaken to remove dust.
However, the court appeared unconvinced by these submissions and indicated that it would hold top officials directly accountable for addressing the worsening pollution situation in Dhanbad.
