Ranchi: Jharkhand High Court directed the state pollution control board on Wednesday to ensure that stringent steps are taken to check rising pollution levels in the state and send its officials to conduct on-the-spot verifications of illegal mining units before filing a detailed report. The directive was issued to Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board by a division bench comprising Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice Ratnaker Bhengra while hearing a PIL initiated suo motu on illegal mining. In its affidavit, the board told the court that a task force headed by respective deputy commissioners had been constituted in all districts to check on illegal mining activities. But the bench observed that the board ought to provide more information in its reports. For instance, it asked the board to specify the ratio of suspended particulate matter in the air around crusher units, most of which operate in clusters. The bench ordered the board to file an affidavit about the quality of air and water in areas where crusher units were operational. It also ordered the state government to be strict while ensuring pollution norms were complied with. The next hearing is on May 15. NH directive The court also directed the state government, National Highway Authority of India and nationalised banks funding the NH-33 project to widen to four lanes the stretch between the capital and Jamshedpur to file a detailed status report. The court observed that the work on the national highway was going on at a slow pace and nothing much had done on a project which concerned the public at large. The case will be heard again on May 17.