The Allahabad High Court today directed the Uttar Pradesh government to file an affidavit elucidating the guidelines its proposes for e-auctioning of mining leases in the state.
Passing the order, a division bench comprising Chief Justice D B Bhosle and Justice Yashwant Verma made it clear that the state government's request for vacating the stay order on mining of major minerals would be considered only if the affidavit is filed on May 1, the next date of hearing in the matter.
The court's observations came in response to a plea made by Advocate General Raghavendra Singh who submitted that while the state government was laying down guidelines for e-auction, in a bid to curb illegal mining, the same was a "time-taking process".
The advocate general had prayed that the state government be "permitted to give temporary mining leases to avoid shortage of sand and other minerals in UP".
The court, however, told the AG to ensure that the affidavit filed on behalf of the state government on the next date of hearing contained the aforementioned guidelines.
The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by Gulab Chandra Mishra, who had drawn the court's attention towards illegal mining activities in the state.
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