Policy to curb illegal mining soon, Gujarat tells court
By IANSMonday, October 18, 2010
GANDHINAGAR - A policy aimed at curbing illegal mining in Gujarat is being formulated, the Narendra Modi government told the Gujarat High Court Monday.
The state government said this in an affidavit filed before a division bench comprising Chief Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya and Justice Akil Kureshi.
The government was responding to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by right to information (RTI) activist Amit Jethwa who was allegedly murdered in July this year.
In his PIL, Jethwa alleged that Dinu Solanki, a Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) MP, and his relatives were behind illegal mining around the lion sanctuary of Sasan Gir.
The court Monday gave the state government three weeks’ time to come out with a policy to curb illegal mining and posted the hearing in Nov.
The court Aug 24 permitted Jethwa’s brother, Bhavin, and uncle, Vijay Rathod, to join the case after the death of the RTI activist.
Those arrested in connection with the murder of Jethwa outside the high court in Ahmedabad include police Constable Bahadursinh Vadher, Solanki’s nephew Shiva alias Pratap Solanki and three others.
