Rajiv Sharma, J.

With the consent of parties, Union of India through Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, is added as respondent no.11. Petitioners are the residents of village Ganwa Sirmoli, District Bageshwar. The present petition has been filed pro bono publico by the petitioners highlighting the degradation caused to the environment by private respondent Nos. 8 to 10 who are allegedly carrying illegal mining activities in village Panchayat Ganwa Sirmoli, Tehsil Kanda, District Bageshwar.

2. The sum and substance of the averments made in the petition is that private respondent Nos. 8 to 10 have damaged the roads by carrying out the illegal mining by using explosive and deploying heavy machinery.

3. According to the averments made in the writ petition, respondent Nos. 8 to 10 have carried out illegal mining activities in the forest areas. The mining activities have caused threat to schools and residential houses. The mining activities have been carried out within the radius of 20 meters from the residential houses. There are about 150 families