The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Himachal Pradesh government to ensure no illegal mining takes place in Sirmaur district while proceedings remain pending. The order follows a complaint alleging widespread, unscientific extraction of limestone and riverbed minerals in the region.
Filed by Nathu Ram Chauhan, the application highlights extensive mining and stone crusher operations in Kafota, Sataun, Rajban, Paonta Sahib, Sangrah, and Shillai. Continuous rains triggered the debris collapse, burying and killing three people—a local truck driver from Barwas village and two workers from Nepal. Responding to the motion, industries minister Harshwardhan Chauhan stated that hydraulic pressure caused the quarry debris to collapse onto vehicles and workers during heavy rainfall. He added that the Union ministry of mines and the directorate general of mines safety are investigating the accident, while local police have registered an FIR.
The complaint links these unscientific practices directly to an August 18 landslide at a limestone site near Tiloridhar (Baganadhar) in the Kafota-Shillai region.
