The Chhattisgarh High Court has taken up a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) regarding the illegal mining of muroom from land belonging to the Army.
The court heard the matter on January 9, 2025, and directed the Secretary, Mines & Minerals, Government of Chhattisgarh, to issue notices to all colonisers alleged to have utilized the illegally excavated muroom.
The PIL was filed in response to news reports highlighting the large-scale illegal mining of muroom from the Army’s land in the Tifra and Chakarbhata areas.
The reports alleged the mined muroom was being used in the construction of colonies and buildings. The court took cognizance of the matter and directed the concerned authorities to take action against those responsible for the illegal mining.
In response to the court’s directions, the Secretary, Department of Mines & Minerals, Government of Chhattisgarh, filed an affidavit stating that notices had been issued to the builders and colonisers, and two of the builders had submitted their replies.
The affidavit also stated that a penalty of Rs 6,88,848 had been imposed on one of the builders for failing to satisfy the legal procurement of used muroom.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal has directed the Secretary, Mines & Minerals, to file a fresh affidavit explaining the mode and mechanism adopted by the authorities to determine whether the muroom excavated from the land in question and the muroom utilized by the colonisers are different.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on February 3, 2025.
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