The river desilting policy has come under intense judicial scrutiny, with both the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the National Green Tribunal (NGT) raising serious concerns over alleged illegal mining being carried out under the guise of flood-control measures.In the latest development, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered an immediate stay on illegal mining in the Sutlej and Swan river areas of Ropar district. The interim order was passed on Monday by a Division Bench comprising Justice Sandeep Moudgil and Justice Neerja K Kalson while hearing a civil writ petition filed by Prem Dutt Sharma, a resident of Ropar, against the Punjab Government.The government had sought additional time to file its response. Acting on instructions from Executive Engineer Mahavir Sharma, the government informed the court that no mining was being undertaken at the site. According to the government’s submission, the work in question pertained to maintenance and strengthening of a bridge over the Sutlej and Swan.However, the high court directed the state to place on record the tender documents under which the work had been awarded, along with details of the contractor executing the project. The court observed that these records would help determine whether the activities reflected in the photographs, annexed to the petition, were part of authorised maintenance work or amounted to illegal extraction of riverbed material.The respondents have been granted one week to comply with the directions and the matter has been listed for further hearing on June 16.Meanwhile, the NGT Principal Bench, headed by chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member Dr Afroz Ahmad, has restrained the government from permitting any further dredging or desilting for commercial purposes under 79 disputed tenders unless mandatory environmental safeguards were complied with.