Supreme Court orders immediate halt to illegal river mining

KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court has issued a five-point mandamus to the government ordering an immediate halt to the illegal extraction of stones, gravel, and sand from rivers and streams.

A division bench of Justices Dr Manoj Kumar Sharma and Tek Prasad Dhungana issued the mandamus to immediately stop illegal extraction and bring those involved in such activities across the country to the book.

The mandamus has ordered the government to immediately create and implement a separate River Resources and Natural Resources (Extraction and Control) Act to protect rivers.

“Although six provinces have implemented the River Resources (Collection and Use) Procedure, 2018 and the federal government has brought Stone, Gravel, and Sand Extraction, Sales and Management Standards, 2020, a separate River Resources and Natural Resources (Extraction and Control) Act must be immediately created and implemented to protect rivers and conserve natural resources,” the mandamus reads.

The Supreme Court issued the mandamus, responding to writ petitions demanding action against illegal extraction from rivers and streams across the country.

The court also noted that while Section 17 of the Stone, Gravel, and Sand Extraction, Sales and Management Standards, 2020, requires erecting information boards at extraction sites detailing the extraction area’s dimensions, duration, timing and equipment to be used, field studies showed no such boards were installed. “Therefore, the court orders mandatory installation of information boards at work sites and their regular monitoring,” the order states.

(Translated from RSS)