Want to ensure forests are not destroyed due to mining: CJI

New Delhi, Nov 4 : Hearing the Jharkhand government’s original suit against the Centre’s decision to auction coal blocks in the state, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said it wants to ensure that that forests are not destroyed due to mining, as “no economic value” is placed on them.
Chief Justice S.A. Bobde emphasised that the court’s only concern is that natural resources should not be depleted forever.
A bench headed by the Chief Justice noted it is thinking of setting up of an expert committee to assess the impact of mining in coal blocks near eco-sensitive regions in the state.
The Chief Justice told the counsel of the state government and Attorney General K.K. Venugopal, representing the Centre: “You don’t put an economic value on forests. You put it on timber. We don’t want to stop the development of country in any way, but, forest is a natural wealth, which cannot be eroded either.” The bench, which also comprises Justices A.S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian, orally observed that the court might stay the auction process of coal blocks slated in November for a month till the expert committee submits a report in the matter.
Venugopal strongly objected to this point of view, submitting that the eco-sensitive zone is more than 20 km away from the mines, and “the development of this country will be seriously affected”, if there were to be any stay on the mining.