Illegal construction in Corbett: SC raps former U'khand forest minister Rawat, ex-forest officer
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday came down heavily on former Uttarakhand forest minister and Congress leader Harak Singh Rawat and ex-divisional forest officer Kishan Chand for allowing illegal construction and felling of trees in the Corbett tiger reserve.
This is a case where bureaucrats and politicians have thrown public trust doctrine in the waste bin, said a bench headed by Justice B R Gavai.
The apex court directed the CBI, which is already probing the case, to file its status report in the matter within three months.
"They (Rawat and Chand) have in blatant disregard of the law and for commercial purposes indulged in mass felling of trees to construct buildings in the pretext of promotion of tourism," the bench said.
The top court said it was amazed at the audacity of Rawat and Chand in giving statutory provisions a total go by.
It also formed a committee to look into whether tiger safaris can be permitted in buffer or fringe areas of national parks in the country.
The Enforcement Directorate had earlier raided the residences of Rawat and Chand in connection with illegal construction in the tiger reserve.
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4 workers die after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad
Dhanbad (Jharkhand) (PTI): At least four workers died after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district on Saturday, a police official said.
The incident took place at Moonidih coal washery in the command area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL).
"Bodies of all four workers were dug out of debris during a rescue operation," Putki police station in-charge Waqar Hussain told PTI.
The incident took place when coal slurry was being loaded into trucks by workers, during which a large chunk of slurry fell and trapped several workers underneath, officials said.
The deceased have been identified as Manik Bauri, Dinesh Bauri, Deepak Bauri, and Hemlal Gope.
Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased and local villagers placed the bodies in front of the washery gate and began a protest.
They demanded compensation, jobs for dependents and action against those responsible for the incident.
Police and administration officials are trying to pacify the protesters, an official said.
