AJK top court bans all illegal stone-crushing plants

MUZAFFARABAD:
The Azad Jammu and Kashmir Supreme Court’s Chief Justice Raja Saeed Akram Khan directed the Department of Industries, Commerce, Labor, and Mineral Resources to ban all illegal stone crushing plants in the picturesque valley in order to protect the environment.

Following the decision made by the highest court in AJK, only 54 stone crushing plants have been permitted to continue operating.

The AJK chief justice had warned the department of the illegal stone-crushing plants on Neelum Road to only allow those plants to continue operating in accordance with the region’s standard operating procedures (SOPs).

The thorough observing of the division, as coordinated by AJKSC CJ, is proving to be fruitful, and income of Rs72.8 million has been gathered so far from different stone-smashing plants that are working as per the office’s SOPs.

More details: While sharing additional revenue details, AJK Secretary Industries and Minerals Wajahat Rashid stated that a monthly revenue of Rs5.5 million was collected from the owners of stone-crushing and limestone plants by strictly following the CJ’s orders. AJK PM: Land preservation act enforced in He asserted that as time goes on, this revenue will rise.

“We will maintain zero tolerance in this regard, and the Industries and Minerals Department is working tirelessly to ensure that all environmentally friendly SOPs are followed in all stone crushing and limestone areas. We will never compromise the fundamental environmental SOPs, and AJKSC is closely monitoring the entire issue. “The Chief Justice of AJKSC, who is personally overseeing environmental issues, is to be credited with the significant collection of revenue from the stone crushing and limestone plants,” Rashid stated.

He went on to say that illegal limestone plants and crushing were not only bad for the region’s natural beauty and environment, but they were also bad for the health of the people who lived there. He stated that illegal stone-crushing plants were polluting the air in the region as well as affecting people’s health.