Srinagar, Aug. 22 -- That scene set off a legal fight that ended this week in New Delhi.

The Supreme Court of India Friday dismissed appeals by a private contractor, the National Highway Authority of India, and the Jammu and Kashmir government, and upheld a National Green Tribunal order banning mining in the stream.

The judges ruled that Kashmir's own environmental watchdogs had failed to uphold their mandate.

The case had been pushed forward by Raja Muzaffar Bhat, a Kashmiri environmental activist. In 2022, he petitioned the tribunal against NKC Projects Pvt. Ltd., accusing the company of violating sand-mining rules.

The tribunal first stayed the work and later imposed a complete ban. The company challenged that decision, but the cou...