NGT pulls up Haryana, Rajasthan governments over sand mining

A bench headed by Justice Swatanter Kumar directed both the state governments to file comprehensive status reports within two weeks.

"Despite our orders the states of Rajasthan and Haryana have not completely complied with our directions. We direct both these state governments to ensure complete and comprehensive status reports be placed on record.

"If now compliance is not made within two weeks from as directed each of the states would be liable to pay Rs 50,000 as costs for non-compliance," the bench said while posting the matter for next hearing on April 21.

The Tribunal had earlier hit out at the Rajasthan government for "shutting its eyes" to indiscriminate mining activities in Alwar and directed it to ban illegal mining of minor minerals in the district and seize all crushers and grinders operating illegally.

It had also directed the state government to file a comprehensive plan for "restoration, reforestation and reclamation" of the entire area, along with the cost likely to be incurred.

The directions came while perusing a report filed by Alwar's Deputy Conservator of Forests, which had stated that rampant mining is going on in an area approximately spanning 2,612.64 hectares of the district.

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22.53 lakh children administered polio drops in Haryana

The vaccine was administered to the children on Sunday at the booths specially set up for the purpose.
   
Fifty-four percent of the targeted children have been covered on the first day of the three-day campaign, a Haryana Health Department spokesman said in Chandigarh on Monday.
   
He said that about 40 lakh children would be covered during this campaign in the state.
    
The drive will continue for another two days when the teams would go from door-to-door to administer vaccine to children who could not come to the booths on Sunday.
   
In order to smoothly carry out this campaign, a total of 16,669 booths were setup in the state. About 66,000 health officials, volunteers, Anganwadi workers and Accredited Social Health Activists workers participated in it.
   
About 3,300 officers and officials supervised the activity apart from independent Monitors of PGIMS, Rohtak and National Polio Surveillance Project (NPSP) of World Health Organization (WHO).

(Agencies)

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