NGT directs panel to quantify Singareni Collieries Company's penalties

HYDERABAD: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Monday directed its Joint Committee to assess the Environmental Compensation to be levied on Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) for the violations committed by Jalagam Vengal Rao Opencast coal mine in Khammam.

Most of the violations are of mining coal in excessive quantities than the allowed limits for more than a decade - from 2007 to 2020. The Central body also directed the committee to look into the charges of violation and to furnish a compliance report on the same.

The NGT also pulled up the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, which is a party to the case, asking if the latter did not levy environmental compensation on the SCCL for the violations just because it is a government entity. 

The Joint Committee had recommended that a suitable relief must be provided to residents of three villages - NTR Nagar, Jalagam Vengala Rao Nagar and Rejarla - in Sathupally mandal of Khammam district where houses of many people have been damaged.

The village is located close to the SCCL mine and residents have accused blasting operations undertaken by SCCL as the reason behind the damages. However, the Joint Committee in its report said that there is no proof to conclude that the blasts by SCCL are to be completely blamed for the damage.

When the committee members inspected damaged houses in NTR Nagar, they found that most of the houses were allocated to the people in 1985-86 by the then Andhra Pradesh government and their construction was substandard. The Joint Committee concluded recommended payment compensation through District Mineral Fund Trust on humanitarian grounds.

LACK OF CLARITY IN EXPENDITURE OF DISTRICT MINERAL FUND 

The NGT also pointed out that SCCL had contributed Rs 161 crore towards DMFT from the JVR-OC project and highlighted the lack of transparency in its utilisation, in violation of the DMFT Rules