Prisoner’s petition stops mining

The air around Taloja prison is cleaner thanks to a petition filed by 2008 Malegaon bomb blast accused retired Major Ramesh Upadhyay.

Upadhyay, a leading member of the right-wing Hindu fundamentalist organisation Abhinav Bharat, had complained of air pollution in the area to the Bombay High Court, after which the Collector of Raigad stopped all illegal mining activities in the area. Based on the report of the Collector, the court disposed of the petition.

In the report, the Collector stated that all mining, quarrying and brick kiln work in the proximity of Taloja jail had been stopped considering the noise and air pollution being beyond permissible limit by a report of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB).

The report said, "All mining, quarrying and brick kilns within a two-kilometre radius of Taloja jail has been stopped. Nobody would be issued a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) to carry out such activities in the vicinity of the jail."

The Collector, in his report, also said that following the petition, an FIR has been lodged against seven persons for conducting illegal mining and quarrying work near the jail.

Upadhyay, who has been lodged in Taloja since last year, claimed that due to chemical factories and other construction activities in the vicinity of the jail, he and several other inmates were facing health problems.

The court had directed the Collector and the MPCB to inquire into air, water and noise pollution around Taloja jail, in Raigad.