CUTTACK: Sand mining on Pankapal river bed in Jajpur district’s Danagadi block has come under the National Green Tribunal (NGT) scanner following allegations of illegal extraction by lessees.
A three-member fact-finding committee has been asked to probe into the allegations.
The NGT’s East Zone bench in Kolkata on April 3 admitted a petition filed by Talcher-based United Youth for Sustainable Environment Trust alleging that the illegal extraction is being carried on outside the lease area in the Pankapal-I and Pankapal-II sand mining block by using high powered machines.
The petition alleged that two lessees were extracting sand through mechanised mining using Hyundai 210 machines in violation of Sustainable Sand Mining Management Guidelines, 2016. Advocate Ashutosh Padhy made submissions on behalf of the Trust.
The bench of B Amit Sthalekar (Judicial Member) and Dr Afroze Ahmad said, “We deem it appropriate to constitute a committee shall visit the site in question and thereafter submit a fact-finding report on affidavit within three weeks with regard to the allegations made in the application.”
The bench also issued notices to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (Integrated Regional Office-Bhubaneswar), OSPCB, SEIAA, state authorities including district collector Jajpur, tehsildar (Danagadi) and the two lessees. The bench posted the matter to May 6 for further hearing.