CUTTACK: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Friday ordered a halt to sand mining operations on the Brahmani river bed in Dharmasala block until a study report of the annual replenishment rate of sand is available with the Jajpur Collector.
The NGT’s East Zone Bench of Justice B Amit Sthalekar (judicial member) and Justice Saibal Dasgupta (expert member) in Kolkata said, “We direct that until a study report of annual replenishment rate of sand by collecting pre-monsoon and post-monsoon data from the field to know the quantum of the volume of sand deposited/replenished and extracted in the mining lease area which is to be duly carried out by an authorized consultant, by the lessee is not submitted to the Collector, Jajpur, the lessee shall not be permitted to carry out any sand mining operations”.
The Tribunal issued the directions while disposing of a petition after taking note of the inspection report submitted by a committee constituted by it to ascertain the veracity of the allegations.
Alok Malik and three others of the locality had filed the petition in 2021 alleging the use of a mechanical excavator by a private lessee for carrying out sand mining even during monsoon on Brahmani river sand bed in Dharmasala block. Advocate Sankar Prasad Pani argued on behalf of the petitioners.