Srinagar, April 29 -- Srinagar- The High Court of J&K and Ladakh has dismissed a plea filed by residents of Baramulla's Pariswani village, seeking permission to extract sand, stones and boulders from a local nallah, ruling that no such activity can be carried out without statutory approval under mining laws.

A bench of Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal held that ownership of land or past practice of mineral extraction does not confer any vested right to exploit minor minerals. The court emphasized that minerals are governed by a separate statutory regime and are treated as public resources held in trust by the State.

The petitioners had argued that extraction from the nallah, partly flowing through their proprietary land, was their traditional...