NGT raps Keonjhar Collector over order on mining

CUTTACK: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has set a three-week deadline for Keonjhar Collector to file ‘a comprehensive affidavit’ on identification of illegal miners of laterite at Madanpur under Ghasipura tehsil and recovery of `7.30 crore towards environmental compensation from them.

The NGT’s East Zone Bench in Kolkata set the deadline after expressing dissatisfaction over the affidavit filed by the Collector. The Tribunal was hearing an application, filed by Sudhanshu Sekhar Kuanr and Sambit Ranjan Kuanr in 2019, for intervention against illegal mining of laterite in cashew forest land in Madanpur.   

On December 2, 2019, a NGT-directed joint inspection conducted by the Central Pollution Control Board, Kolkata, Odisha State Pollution Control Board, District Mining Officer and Divisional Commissioner, Keonjhar had computed the environmental compensation of `7.30 crore to be recovered from the illegal miners.

In his affidavit filed on September 15, the Collector of Keonjhar had stated that directions have been issued to Ghasipura tehsildar for detection of defaulting miners and collection of penalties. The tehsildar was directed to take legal action against them as per the directions of the NGT for recovery of environmental compensation of `7.3 crore, the affidavit said. 

But the Bench of Justice B Amit Sthalekar (Judicial Member) and Justice Saibal Dasgupta (Expert Member) was not satisfied. “We find that the Collector-Keonjhar is simply dragging his feet in the matter of identification of the illegal miners and recovery of environmental compensation from them. Even after two years having passed, nothing has happened with regard to the recovery of this amount from the defaulters,” the Bench observed and directed to list the matter on November 11.