FAHIM AHMED SIDDIQUI, J.--The petitioners are the villagers and they are aggrieved with the act of respondent No. 9 for dynamite blasting and mining for limestone, which was made large or small fragment (commonly known as crush) through a mechanized crush ing plant. Respondent No. 9 has started such activities under the license/lease granted by the official respondents belonging to the Mines and Mineral Development Department (hereinafter referred as Mines Department). The grievance of the petitioners is that due to such mining and crushing activities, the life of villagers is disturbed and disrupt as dust particles are scattered and hovered in the air and impaired the air quality , while rock pieces are fallen upon the village. The petitioners claiming that since such activities are environmental hazards for the villagers, therefore, the same should be stopped.
2. Mr. Ali Raza Baloch, while articulating his arguments, draws attention towards different documents indicating that the mining permit was issued in favour of one Asif Khan. He submits that actually in the field respondent No. 9 i.e. Najeebullah Khan is doing all the job of blasting and crushing the rocks. He submits that even the conditions laid down in the mining permit were violated as it is mentioned that through such activities the leaseholder has to prevent hazards to human or animal life or the property of others and the environments. Mr. Baluch further points out that the report of the Additional Regist rar of this Court indicates that fresh minin g activities were observed on or around 18.11.2020, which means that respondent No. 9 has also violated the restraining order of this Court. He further submits that as per lease holding rights, respondent No. 9 may collect limestone but he is not allowed to install or establish a factory or crushing plant, which adds up to the miseries of the petitioners as the entire area becomes dusty due to such activities.
3. Mr. Qurban Ali Malano, representing respondent No. 9, submits that no village or human settlement is available close to the mining field. He submits that the purpose of such mining activities is to prepare building materials like ballast and crush for which installation of a crushing plant is necessary . According to him, such activities of respondent No. 9 do not cause any harm to the environment as the same is not troublesome for the petitioners in any manner . While closing his arguments, Mr. Malano submits that by filing such a petition, the petitioners are not only causing business loss to respondent No. 9 but also depleting the public exchequer revenue.
4. Mr. Ahmed Ali Shahani, the learned AAG, submits that the license or lease was granted but such permit does not speak about the installation of a crushing plant and the same does not fall under the domain of the Mines Department. According to him, for the same purpose, respondent No. 9 has to obtain permission from Industries Department, which was not done. He further submits that this aspect has now come to the limelight and now the provincial government intends to remove this hurdle by proposed legislation whereby Mines-Department will be able to take care of such a situation by-issuing permit for crusing plants. However , Mr. Shahani frankly concedes that since requested permission or license has not been sought by respondent No. 9 from the Industries Department and avoiding the requisite fee/charges; therefore, respondent 9 should not operate crusing machines till such permission is obtained.
5. We have heard the arguments advanced and have gone through the available record. In this matter , a mining lease of a considerable piece of land was granted by the Mines Department to Asif Khan, and respondent No. 9 might be sub-lessee or, his agent, who is engaged in the actual mining activitie s of limestone. These types of mining are known as surface mining and also referred as limestone quarries from where for collecting or recovering limestone, the miners are not required to go deep underground since the limestone is recoverable from the surface areas of mounds and hills for which instead of manual labour , the quarry operators usually prefer to blast the portion of mounds or hills through a stick of improvised dynamite. It is worth noting that blowing out some portion of such hilly structures through this type of blasting is not safe for the workers as well as nearby residents. The reason is obvious that it may not only cause some serious misfortune for them but also the tiny particles of dust remained suspended in the air, which is ultimately causing serious health issues for the workers -and nearby residents. From the reports available in the record, it is evident that the village of the petitioners is close enough from the mining area, as such the apprehensions of the petitioners regarding environmental degradation cannot be disregarded.
Respondent No. 9 is not only cutting and blowing the stony mound and hills for collecting limestone but also he has installed a crusher plant for crushing the limestone to make ballast and --crush and such plants produce a huge amount of dust, which makes the air quality of surrounding area injurious for human and livestock. It is also badly affected the wildlife including flora and fauna. Another aspect of the case is important that in the leasing document, nowhere it is mentioned that the lease right holder is authorized to install a crushing plant. We are of the view that a crushing plant falls under the category of a factory , as such its establishment requires certain other formalities, licences, and permission. During arguments, it has been admitted that no such permission or license from the relevant department was obtained by respondent No. 9 or his master i.e. Asif Khan to whom the lease was granted.
6. In Sindh, the stone crushing industry is dominant but unfortunately , it is still an environmentally unrecognized sector of industrial activities. 'Usually , such industries are installed nearby the limestone quarries without considering and employing measures for maintaining air quality . It is worth noting that different operations' involved in stone-crushing industries, which may cause - significant environmental impacts including air and noise pollution in the vicinity as well as vibrant effects in the far-of f areas. Environmental and medical experts admit that the exposure of the human body to any kind of dust for a longer period may cause harmful effects through inhalation, ingestion as well as by skin and eye contact depending upon the physical and chemical properties of dust and its source. Crushed limestone dust is a waste material from the production of concrete aggregate by crushing quarreled limestone rocks. Limestone dust is composed mainly of calcium carbo nate (CaCO3). It may contain a considerable amount of magnesium carbonate (dolomite) as well as certain other constituents like clay, iron carbonate pyrite and quartz , and all these chemical components may cause serious damage to human health. We are well aware that the stone-crushing industries are necessary for several allied industries. These industries provide the raw material for the construction of roads, buildings, bridges, and railways. At the same time, it provided the livelihood for skilled and unskilled labourers employed at different stages of, a stone crushing process like drilling, blasting and collecting rocks, leading stone-rocks up to the crushing plant, crushing, screening, size1 classification, material handling, storage, and transportation operation of the finished product up to its destination.
However , we are equally cognizant that such type of mining operations and crushing industries cause significant emanation of suspended particulate matter (SPM) in the atmosphere, as such if permission is granted the same should be subject to considering all the factors of sustainable development and surely not without the proper environmental impact assessment (EIA) as well as public hearing as per provision of section 31 of the Sindh Environmental Protection Act, 2014 (hereinafter referred as `SEP A'). The stone quarries fall under the definition of a project as mentioned under section 2(xlii) of SEPA and as per provision of section 17 of SEPA the construction or operation of a project cannot be commenced without involving the Environmental Protection Agency through an application for Initial. Environmental Examination (IEE) or Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and thereafter approval of the Agency is necessary for the execution of such project. It is evident that this process has not been followed by respondent No..9 and unfortunately Mines Department has also overlooked the same, which in our view is criminal negligence by the official respondents and the same may be answerable as per provision of section 24 of SEP A.
7. Now another aspect needs our attention. As explained above, the mining activity of limestone is limited to the upper surface of the earth for which no deeper excavation and proper formations of underground mines are needed. Although, limestone is not a precious or semi-precious stone; at the same time it is not a valueless item. It is an important raw material for cement manufacturing while it is also used in some other industries. It is a comparatively soft stone, as such crushing _units prefer to transform the same into building aggregates for using in the concrete mortar instead of using gravels or other hard stones. We consider that when gravels and other stones are available for concrete aggregates, the Mining Department should be careful while giving leases and preference should be given to limestone mining for industrial purposes. Nevertheless, being surface mining, the mining of limestone is an entirely different process. It is not equivalent to the process of oil exploration or exploration of precious or semi-precious metal or materials. It does not require any exploration as the limestone can easily be detected and estimated without applying any sophisticated equipment. The Mines Department's representatives have placed on record, a complete map of the province indicating areas of availability of limestone while the Mineral Map of Sindh indicating areas of different sorts of mineral resources is also available on the website of the Mines Department. From the website of the Mines Department, it is revealed that usually limestone and other surface minerals licences are issued for so-called small-scale minings for 50 acres only. The categories of the mining activities or mining concessions are mentioned as under: Mining Concessions Mainly two types of Mining activities are carried out through the department i.e. Small Scale Mining and Large Scale Mining.
SMALL SCALE MINING Sr.
NoType Period Renewable Area
1. Exploration Permit One year Ten years 50 Sq. Kms (Max)
2. Mining Permit Ten years Ten years 50 Sq Kms.
(Max)
3. Quarry License Limestone.
Ordinary Stone, Gravel, Reti/Barji, ordinary sand morum.One year Yearly basis (Mas) 50 Acres LARGE SCALE MINING Sr.
No.Type Period Renewable Area
1. Reconnaissance License One year Renewable 100 sq. Kms (Max)2 3
2. Exploration License Three years Upto seven years 100 sq. Kms (Max)
3. Mineral Deposit Retention License Eligibility: Explanation license holderTwo years. Renewable for one yearArea can be reduced
4. Mining License Thirty years Renewable
8. Respondent No. 9 appears to be a small-scale mine or quarry operator under such permits. It appears that respondent No. 9 was granted such a licence only on his application. So far as royalty is concerned, the same is also collectible either from respondent No 9 or from those, who are removing the minerals from the mines but the record is silent about the payment of royalty. The exploration of minerals certainly pertains to those minerals which are situated underneath the surface of the earth but for the purpose of surface minerals, no exploration activities are needed. Nevertheless, from the above schedule of mining concessions, it is clear that exploration and mining permits are a different category to the quarry licences, which may be given without any exploration permit, which is otherwise necessary for large-scale mining activities.
9. It is worth noting that the Revenue Department is the custodian of the record of all the government lands. Hence, while issuing licences or concessions, the Revenue Department should "be taken on board and the land given for exploration of minerals or licenses for mines and quarries should be properly measured and marked. However , in the present case, it appears that the said procedure was also not followed, and perhaps the similar is the situation for the licences of other stone quarries as well as other surface minerals. Besides, the procedure for licensing is also questionable. We are of the view that the licensing for exploration of minerals is no doubt needs some technical and geological expertise for which an application ought to be processe d differently by ascertaining the qualification of the prospective applicants. Moreover , a prosperous applicant, after investing in exploration in a licensed area, actually adds up in the resources of the country . However , the adoption of the same procedure for surface mining like stone quarry is surely not needed such evaluation and analysis, and before applying for such licence, the prosperous applicant is well aware not only about the availability of stone, sand, and other surface mineral and after applying and in some cases after greasing the palms of some of the officials, he can get the mining rights on a very meager licence fee which in present case Rs.10,000/- (ten thousand) only. Under the garb of such licence fee, the licensee can remove the limestone and other stone from hilly areas, which were used in the making of crush and other building materials. Such licences are extendable and usually continuously extended until the entire hills are flattened rather than converted into a ditch or pit. It appears that the present procedure adopted by the Mines Department for issuing the licence to the operators of stone quarrie s and/or mines of other surface minerals is not transparent and it opens the venue of corruption and favoritism. We consider that the proper procedure for all the surface minerals mining activities shall be an open auction so that the prosperous applicants may compete and get the licence for exploitation of surface minerals.
10. Now we would like to address the installation of crushing units nearly at all the stone quarries in Sindh. These mechanized crushers crushed the huge rocks into the aggregate of small fragments locally known as crush and used as an important building material. These fragments of rocks are made with mechanized crushers, which produce a lot of air and noise pollution while working. It is unfortunate indeed that these crushers are usually installed within or nearby the stone quarries and in some within the vicinity of a highway or human settlements.
Through wet-crushing, the dust produced could be minimized while the manufacturers of these crushers have also introduced different types of Dust Collectors to be attached with the crushing machines so that pollutants may not spread in the atmosphere but in the country, all these crushing machines are being used without Dust Collector installed or attached with them. Besides, it is necessary that before allocating a site for stone quarry , an Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) and subsequently an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) should be done by SEPA after the public hearing but the said procedure has never been followed. It is also necessary that the area- allocated to the operators. of quarries should be properly demarcated for which the revenue authorities should also be involved and without NOC from the Board of Revenue, no new quarry for surface mineral should be given to prospective operators. Consequently , we crystalized the entire matter in the following terms. i. The permit/ licence issued in favour of respondent No. 9 by the Mines Department regarding the limestone quarry adjacent to the village of the petitioners is set aside by declaring that the same was established without fulfilling the necessary codal formalities. ii The crushing machine/plant functioning at or nearby the said quarry is also declared as illegal, as the same falls under the definition of a factory and it was also working without proper permission obtained according to sections 5 and 5-A of the Factories Act, 1934, as such the respondent No. 9 is directed to remove the same within 15 days and in case of failure the Deputy Comm issioner concerned is directed to remove the same on the expenses of respondent No. 9. iii. The Deputy Commissioners of all the districts in Sindh are directed to issue notic es to all the crushing plants and machines installed and operating in their jurisdiction within or nearby a some quarry and with directions to get relevant permits/licences issued by the relevant departments of the ministry of industries within three months thereafter no crushing plant/machine should be allowed to function without permit and license and all such plants and machines should be removed by district administration. iv. Nevertheless, installation of such crushers or crushing plants may only be done keeping in view of the requirements of sustainable developmen t as envisaged under the Sindh Environmental Protection Act, 2014 and rules made thereunder but under the permits/licences issued as provided under sections 5 and 5-A of the Factories Act, 1934 after fulfilling all the codal formalities, rules and regulations.
The Government of Sindh is directed to issue directions/ notification under Section 5 read with Section 16 of the Factories Act, 1934 for making it mandatory that all the Crushers, Crushing Machines, Crushing Plants operating /working within the province of Sindh should make proper arrangements for removing or minimizing dust by using wet-crushing technology or installing proper Dust Catcher within a period of six months. vi. The Deputy Commissioners of all the Districts in Sindh are directed to, submit a list of all the surface minerals mines and quarries in their districts to the Director-General, Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEP A), who shall conduct Environmental Impact Assessment and furnish a report to Deputy Commissioner and Mines Department with suggestion regarding the operation of such mines and quarries. In case of-a negative :EIA, the Deputy Commissioners are directed to close such activities immediately . The Mines Department is directed to cooperate with the Deputy Commissioner and SEP A. vii. The Mines Department is directed to allocate the surface minerals mining permits to prospective mine and quarry operators for surface minerals by auction while all those mining permits for stone quarries and mines pertaining to any sorts of surface minerals should be canceled, if not allocated to mines and quarry operators without any open auction or bid. viii. The Mines department is directed to get the area of Mines and Quarries of surface mining demarcate with the help and assistance of Revenue department while Deputy Commissioners are directed to make sure that no mine or quarry operator is allowed to operate beyond allocated area.
The instant petition is disposed of in terms of the above B observations and directions. . https://www.Britannica.com/science/limestone http//www.smd.gov.pk/Maps.aspx http//www.smd.gov.pk/MiningConcessions.aspx