DHANI RAM Vs. AMBUJA CEMENT LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY means of this petition, the Petitioners who are the residents of village Barsanoo, Banog and Rathoh, Tehsil Arki, District Solan have prayed that the Respondent No. 1 -Company be restrained from raising any kind of construction for installing the conveyor belt in the safety zone in village Barsanoo, Banog, Rathoh and Respondents No. 2 and 3 be also directed to strictly enforce and comply with the Environmental Laws.

(2.) VIDE our order dated 20th December, 2010, keeping in view the issue involved, we had appointed a Commission consisting of Shri Ashwani Kumar Sharma, Advocate and Ms. Vandana Mishra, Advocate. The Commissioners were directed to visit the spot and furnish their report to the Court on the following aspects:

(3.) IT is thus obvious that according to the Commissioners, there is no need to restrain/prohibit the Company from setting up the conveyor belt. However, the Commissioners have suggested that precautions and mitigative measures should be taken to ensure that there is minimal adverse affect on the environment. In the course of the report, the Commissioners have also made reference to certain water sources of the villages, which have been adversely affected by the construction, carried out by the Respondent -Company. The first is in respect of Nauni -ki -kuhl, which originates from village Barsanoo and fed lands in village Banog and the surplus water used to be harnessed at Baldi khad. The second is Bharari -ki -kuhl and it was found that due to boulders of limestone, the said kuhl was blocked. The Commissioners have also suggested that the kuhls should be repaired and underground pipes of suitable diameter should be laid to carry the flow of water into the kuhls. The conveyor belt proposed to be set up is fully enclosed conveyor belt. In case, such a conveyor belt is not set up, a huge number of trucks will have to be utilized to carry the limestone. The plying of trucks themselves also leads to unnecessary pollution and therefore, we are of the considered view that the proposal of setting up a conveyor belt is in fact more environmental friendly than allowing trucks to be plied. At the same time, we are of the considered opinion that the rights of the villagers, especially the rights of irrigation/water and their rights to live in friendly environment are protected. The Company in its response has in fact undertaken to comply with the suggestions made by the Commissioners. Therefore, the report of the Commissioners is accepted and the writ petition is disposed of with the following directions: