Ropar: The Punjab and Haryana high court on Tuesday adjourned till Wednesday the hearing on a petition alleging illegal mining near the strategic Agampur bridge over the Satluj and Swan rivers in Sri Anandpur Sahib, after the Punjab govt denied any unauthorised extraction and maintained that only desilting for flood mitigation was being carried out.The state submitted a detailed status report through an affidavit filed by Ropar deputy commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal, rejecting allegations of widespread commercial mining and asserting that the riverbed works were aimed at safeguarding public infrastructure ahead of the monsoon.According to the affidavit, a joint inspection conducted on May 31 by the Sri Anandpur Sahib SDM and executive mining engineers found no evidence of illegal mining under the Agampur bridge.The state said the photographs submitted by the petitioner actually depicted authorised pier-protection and river-training works being executed by a PWD (B&R) contractor under a valid work order issued in November 2025.The govt said desilting had been completely prohibited within 300 metres downstream of the bridge to protect its structural integrity, while excavation upstream was restricted to a length of 30 to 50 metres and a depth of five metres below the top of the well cap.It further maintained that the dredging works were non-commercial, being carried out by identified landowners at their own cost, and were legally permitted only till June 30 to restore the riverbed’s carrying capacity after the devastating floods of 2025.The Punjab govt has also sought setting aside of the high court’s interim order of June 8, which temporarily halted activities at the site.The petition was filed by Prem Dutt Sharma, 70, a resident of Takhatgarh village in Ropar district, who alleged that the Satluj-Swan confluence was being damaged under the guise of administrative clean-up. He claimed the operations had led to the destruction of the Kawanwali Beli wetland, unlawful diversion of the Swan river and significant disruption of local hydrology.Sharma further alleged that heavy machinery and movement of material through temporary routes and village roads posed safety risks and adversely affected residents.Petitioner’s counsel Satinder Kaur said the issue of riverbed mining in Punjab was also under examination by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which had earlier criticised unregulated extraction in the state. She said the NGT, in an order dated May 27, had ruled that further desilting could proceed only after full compliance with the National Framework for Sediment Management issued by the Union ministry of jal shakti in October 2022.
