NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday said it would ‘go after’ the collector who had passed an order in the case of the notification of the Netravali wildlife sanctuary that areas falling in mining leases that were existing prior to the sanctuary should be excluded from the sanctuary.
“The collector could not have done it. He has rights given to
adjudicate on matters relating to existing surface rights, in the case of habitations, private properties etc. Mineral is the property of the state. It is not meant for mining rights,” the court observed
“Do you know why the collector passed this order? It is because he has to listen to the ‘big bosses’ We all know that. If you argue that (on the basis of a collector’s order) we will go after the collector. Unless we put fear of the law in the minds of the collectors, they will continue to go against the law and obey the ‘bosses’,” the court observed.
