VIJAYAWADA: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has pulled up the Andhra Pradesh mining department for issuing dispatch permits to mining companies, even when there is no environmental clearance. It directed the Director of Mining to file a detailed report explaining how an illegal activity could be permitted, even when the department is aware of the fact that permitting such activity is absolutely illegal.
As per the tribunal order in a petition filed by P Eswara Rao of Visakhapatnam, there are about 10 projects which are alleged to be mining illegally. The report by Deputy Director of Mines and Geology, Visakhapatnam, filed on May 16 said the projects are of Navayuga Engineering Company Limited and Madhava Projects, which were in operation between 2006 and 2017. One of the projects is in 5 hectares and remaining are in less than 5 hectares of land, he stated The NGT stated that even if the extent of mining is in less than 5 hectares, environmental clearance is required after 2006.
Citing the Deputy Director’s report, it said the Mines and Geology Department has not specifically received any orders regarding issuance of environmental clearance from the State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA). The department had been issuing dispatch permits up to April 4, 2021. NGT judicial member Justice Pushpa Satyanarayana said they were surprised to note that the mining department, which is a regulatory body, had been issuing dispatch permits to all the projects in the absence of environmental clearance from the SEIAA.
In fact, in some of the projects it has been stated that the lease holders have applied through online to the SEIAA, only in 2021-22. She said when it is not permissible to quarry in the absence of environmental clearance, it amounts to illegal mining. “We are at a loss to understand how the said dispatch permits have been issued,” she said.
Further, the NGT observed that the quarry leases held by Navayuga for road metals and building stone, the lessee seems to have misued the transit forms and transported gravel which is not included in the grant order. “It is surprising that the mining department has turned Nelson’s eye to these leases,” she observed.
Pointing out that a portion in the report which states that the mining department is basically a revenue earning department to the State exchequer and contributes 15% to the GDP and in order to augment more mineral revenue and in the absence of specific instructions from MoEFCC, SEIAA and APPCB with regard to stoppage of mining operations, mineral dispatch permits were issued to the lease holders thus, the mining department had permitted dispatch, the NGT judicial member said the report is shocking to the conscience as it openly states that illegal activity can be encouraged as it only augment income to the State exchequer. It also asked the Director of Mining Department to give details of the quantity mined illegally, the impact on environment and other things and posted the matter to July 7.