Shimla, Sept. 25 -- The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Himachal Pradesh government to ensure no illegal mining takes place in Sirmaur district while proceedings remain pending. The order follows a complaint alleging widespread, unscientific extraction of limestone and riverbed minerals in the region.

Filed by Nathu Ram Chauhan, the application highlights extensive mining and stone crusher operations in Kafota, Sataun, Rajban, Paonta Sahib, Sangrah, and Shillai. The complaint links these unscientific practices directly to an August 18 landslide at a limestone site near Tiloridhar (Baganadhar) in the Kafota-Shillai region. Continuous rains triggered the debris collapse, burying and killing three people-a local truck driver ...