Supreme Court orders govt. to draft law for sale and management of stones, gravel and sand

Kathmandu, Aug 14: The Supreme Court has issued a directive order in the government to formulate necessary laws for the mining, sale and management of stone, gravel and sand in the country.     

In the full text of the verdict announced by the joint bench of Justices Ti Prasad Shrestha and Abdul Aziz Mulasman April 29 earlier this year, it is mentioned that the directive order has been issued to the Government of Nepal to enact the law.     

The law is necessary to ensure the operation of the quarry industry in an orderly and environment-friendly manner, reads the verdict that issues the directive order in the name of Government of Nepal, Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Kathmandu.     

In the regard the court has also annulled the Stone, Gravel, Sand Extraction, Sale and Management (First Amendment) ) Standards, 2079 BS to the extent of Section 4(1.0) and Section 11(1) of the standards.     

The directive order was issued after hearing the writ petition filed by advocates Padam Bahadur Shrestha, Raju Phuyal of Nuwakot and Rakesh Kumar Sah of Dhanusha on behalf of Environment Law Society Nepal.(RSS)