NGT panel will look into illicit sand mining in Baitarani River, Odisha
In order to investigate claims of over-extraction and mining outside the lease area by the lessee of Utteipur Sand Quarry 2 in Baitarani River within Dhamnagar tehsil of Bhadrak district, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has formed a four-member fact-finding team.
In response to a plea submitted by Bhagabat Sahoo and four other local residents, the NGT’s East Zone Bench in Kolkata decided that the “matter requires consideration” and established the committee on Wednesday. The petitioners claimed that only manual mining (i.e., only using labor and no machinery to mine sand or mining during the monsoon season, when such activities are prohibited) was permitted, and that this included the use of excavators. The petitioners were represented by advocates Ashutosh Padhy and Sankar Prasad Pani.
The B bench “Considering the allegations made, we deem it appropriate to constitute a fact-finding committee to elicit the veracity of the allegations,” said Arun Kumar Verma, the expert member, and Amit Sthalekar, the judicial member. The committee has four weeks to examine the location in issue and provide a report.
The committee is composed of senior scientists from the Central Pollution Control Board, the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority, the Odisha State Pollution Control Board, and the Bhadrak collector or a representative who has a position equivalent to that of additional district magistrate.
