Gujarat HC issues notice to state over blasting activity near Dhatarwadi Dam, directs immediate action

Gujarat High Court on Monday issued notices to three private respondents – Manish Kamaliya, Hiralal Faldu, and Ashwin Faldu – in a matter alleging illegal and unregulated blasting and mining activities in close proximity to the Dhatarwadi earthen dam in Rajula taluka of Amreli district, posing a grave threat to public safety and the dam’s structural integrity.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice D N Ray directed the state government, the district collector, and the private respondents to file their affidavits before the next date of hearing. The court also permitted the petitioners to implead the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) as a party respondent.

The bench instructed the authorities to take immediate and appropriate measures to stop any illegal mining or blasting activities being carried out by the private respondents in the area.

The petition, filed by farmers from Vavera, Dhareshwar, and Rajula villages situated downstream of the dam, contends that the mining lease area of respondent Manish Kamaliya is barely 250–400 metres from the Dhatarwadi earthen dam. 

The petitioners allege that blasting operations are continuing despite environmental clearance for the lease having been rejected, and that repeated complaints to various authorities have gone unheeded.The farmers warned that any structural damage to the dam caused by the blasting could trigger a catastrophic breach, potentially washing away entire villages, located near the reservoir’s downstream area.