The Chhattisgarh High Court has disposed of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) concerning the dumping of fly ash in an abandoned stone mine in Korba district, emphasizing that authorities must ensure the natural water body formed at the site remains undisturbed.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Bibhu Datta Guru passed the order on October 31, while hearing a petition filed by Govind Gour alias Govind Sharma, a resident of Bilaspur. The petitioner had sought directions to stop thermal power plants from dumping fly ash in the abandoned Konkona Ordinary Stone Mines located in Konkona village, Podi-Uproda tehsil, Korba district.
According to the plea, two unreclaimed pits created during stone mining for National Highway 130A (NH-130A) were, as per the approved mining and environmental management plans, meant to be converted into water reservoirs once mining operations ended in 2017.
Expressing concern that local power units might resume dumping fly ash into the pits, the petitioner urged the court to protect the water body. In its order, the bench stated:
“We hereby dispose of this petition with a hope and trust that the respondent authorities would not permit any industries to fill the pit with fly ash and the water body so formed shall not be disturbed.”
With this, the court disposed of the PIL, expressing confidence that the authorities will maintain vigilance to preserve the ecological balance and prevent industrial contamination in the area.
