KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court has issued an interim order not to implement the policy made by the government in the budget statement of the fiscal year 2021-22 to extract sand, pebbles and stones.
A Constitutional Bench of Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher JB Rana, Justices Deepak Kumar Karki, Meera Khadka, Hari Krishna Karki and Bishwambhar Prasad Shrestha on Friday issued an interim order not to implement point number 199 of the budget statement immediately.
Point 199 of the budget statement presented by Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Poudel on May 29 states, “Trade deficit will be reduced by extracting mineral stones, ballast and sand on the basis of environmental impact assessment. I have made an arrangement to give exemption in the import duty for the construction of ropeway from the industry to the point of export for the transportation of exported mineral construction materials.”
Currently, there is a ban on the export of stone ballast from Nepal. But seven writ petitions were filed in the Supreme Court alleging that the government was about to open up the quarry through a budget statement. Hearing the writ petition, the Constitutional Court on Friday also demanded the government to clarify reason on opening the quarry.
Conservationists and environmentalists also protested, saying the government was exploiting the already vulnerable Chure by opening stone and ballast extraction.
