Stone quarry
Further hearing has been posted on Nov 26. He pointed out to the court that while the state irrigation department had given a negative opinion raising an alarm of drinking water scarcity in the area, the commissioner of geology and mining granted permission for quarrying in the river. The bench asked the petitioner to join Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) as a respondent in the litigation and asked the govt’s lawyer to get responses from the Junagadh district collector, irrigation department and the commissioner of geology and mining.
The municipality’s counsel submitted that the civic body had earlier filed a litigation objecting to the mining activities in the river. Ahmedabad: Gujarat High Court on Friday sought a response from the state govt on a PIL filed by Vanthali municipality in Junagadh district, taking exception to the grant of quarry lease in the riverbed of Ozat river.