Unregulated mining in Chakki riverbed prompts crackdown
In response to growing concerns over illegal mining along Chakki river in the Nurpur police district, the Himachal Pradesh Industry Department has deployed a dedicated flying squad and appointed an additional mining officer to curb the rampant, unregulated extraction of minerals from the riverbed.
The development comes in the wake of a petition filed before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) (case no. 1034/2025) by Sanjiv Dogra, a resident of Defence Colony in Pathankot, who lives adjacent to the interstate Chakki River. Dogra has alleged that unchecked mining activity is severely degrading the river’s ecology, endangering local flora and fauna, and causing extensive erosion of land along the riverbanks.
Chakki river, which flows along the Punjab-Himachal Pradesh border, has long been a contentious zone due to its un-demarcated and shifting course, particularly in the Kandwal-Lodhwan-Tipri belt. The ambiguity over jurisdiction has created a fertile ground for illegal mining operations, with both state authorities struggling to assert regulatory control.
Despite a mining officer being stationed in every district of Himachal Pradesh, the Nurpur office was specially established in 2016 due to the prevalence of such activities in this border zone. However, as illegal mining intensified, the state government has now reinforced its strategy by forming a flying squad of mining inspectors and guards tasked with regular inspections and weekly reporting on mining activities in the region.
A senior official from the Industry Department confirmed that the department has introduced electricity usage monitoring for stone crushers as a means to track illegal mineral processing. “We are monitoring the electricity consumption of crushers to identify unauthorised operations,” the official said.
Dogra’s petition also highlighted the increased risk of flooding during the monsoon, directly attributed to the deep and unregulated excavation of the riverbed. Past efforts to demarcate the Chakki’s boundaries, initiated in 2015 by the revenue departments of Nurpur and Pathankot, were ultimately abandoned mid-way, allowing the problem to persist.
In its March 18 hearing, the Principal Bench of the NGT, Delhi, ordered that 11 mining lease holders and 14 stone crushers operating in the Kandwal, Barikhad, Lodhwan, Tipri, and Hagwal areas be added as respondents in the case. Notices have been issued to them through the District Magistrate, Kangra, and the matter is scheduled for the next hearing on May 19.
To aid the tribunal’s inquiry, the NGT has constituted a joint committee headed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The panel includes the Deputy Commissioner of Kangra, the Regional Officer of the Himachal Pradesh Pollution Control Board (HPPCB), Dharamsala, and a CPCB scientist from its Chandigarh office. The committee’s status-cum-progress report was submitted to the NGT on December 12, and is now part of the tribunal’s record.
Himachal Tribune