Disposed

Kiran Pal Rana v. Ministry of Environment & Forest

NGT23 Mar 2021Original Application No. 87/2020

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

The National Green Tribunal examined complaints regarding illegal mechanized riverbed sand mining in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. Compensation was assessed based on a violation for non-compliance in UP, while Haryana operations were deemed compliant. The application was disposed of by directing the use of established oversight mechanisms for further grievance redressal.

What did the court decide?

Environmental compensation of Rs. 10,70,000 ordered for the UP site; application disposed of as pending grievances fall under established oversight mechanisms mandated by earlier orders.

Kiran Pal Rana vs Ministry of Environment & Forest — Environment and Pollution | NGT (2021)

¶1

Court No. 1

¶2

Item No. 06

¶3

BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL PRINCIPAL BENCH, NEW DELHI

¶4

(By Video Conferencing)

¶5

Original Application No. 87/2020

¶6

(With reports dated 27.11.2020 & 18.03.2021)

Kiran Pal Rana

Applicant

Versus

Union of India & Ors.

¶11

Respondent(s)

¶12

Date of hearing: 23.03.2021

¶13

CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE ADARSH KUMAR GOEL, CHAIRPERSON HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE SHEO KUMAR SINGH, JUDICIAL MEMBER HON’BLE DR. NAGIN NANDA, EXPERT MEMBER

¶14

Applicant: Mr. Rahul Choudhary, Advocate

¶15

Respondent: Mr. Rahul Khurana, Advocate for HSPCB

¶16

Mr. Pradeep Misra, Advocate for UPPCB

¶17

ORDER

¶18

Prayer in this application is to take measures against illegal mechanized in-stream riverbed mining on the bank of river Yamuna near Nangla Rai Village of Kairana Block in Shamli District of Uttar Pradesh and at Gumthala North and South Blocks in Yamuna Nagar District of Haryana.

¶19

Vide order dated 15.07.2020, a factual report was sought from the Joint Committee comprising CPCB, Haryana State PCB and District Magistrate, Yamuna Nagar with regard to the area in Haryana and CPCB, UP State PCB and District Magistrate, Shamli with regard to the area in Uttar Pradesh.

¶20

¶21

Accordingly, two reports have been filed- report dated 27.11.2020 by the UPPCB and the report dated 18.03.2021 by the Haryana State PCB. The report of the UPPCB is as follows:-

¶22

“04. Salient observations

¶23

The site visit to the Unit was carried out by a joint team on 15.10.2020. The joint team comprised() SDM Kairana, Dist. Shamli(UP), (representative of District Magistrate, Shami) (i) Regional Director, CPCB Lucknow; and (ii) Regional Officer, UPPCB RO Shamli. The Committee noted the absence of the papers desired to be furnished by the applicant, yet, the salient observations, emerged out of scrutiny of records made available by the District Administration, concerned departments and based on the Site visit dt. 15.10.2020, are summarised as under:

¶24

a. The Sand Mining activity by the Unit commenced on 04.03.2020 and was intermittently carried out till 23.03.2020.Thereafter, the sand mining activity was stopped due to restrictions imposed in light of COVID 19 pandemic. After the relaxation in lockdown, the mining activity restarted on 05.05.2020 and was carried out till 31.07.2020. (Total days of operation 107). During the site visit no mining activity was observed.

¶25

b. Till date the Unit and / or the Project Proponent have not obtained Consent to Operate by UPPCB. In light of this fact and the statutory provisions under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974 and also under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1981, the mining activity shall be deemed as non-compliant.

¶26

c. Considering the fact that the sand mining activity was carried out without obtaining consent (Consent to Operate) of UPPCB. The Unit is liable to pay Environmental Compensation (EC) for defiance of the statutory provisions referred above.

¶27

d. Specific details on status of compliance of conditions imposed in EC and Mining lease are summarised in Annexure 'A' and 'B.

¶28

05. Assessment of violation period

¶29

Environmental Compensation (EC) assessment has been in accordance to Hon'ble NGT Order dt Union 19.02.2019 of India in OA no. 593/2017 in the matter of Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti and another Vs and Others.

¶30

Accordingly, the Environmental Compensation assessment is based on the following formula:

¶31

EC=PI xNxRxSxLF

¶32

Where, EC is Environmental Compensation in PI= Pollution Index of industrial sector

¶33

¶34

N= Number of days of violation took place (Violation Period) R= A factor in Rupees (T) for EC S= Factor for scale of operation LF= Location factor

¶35

The formula incorporates the anticipated severity of environmental pollution in terms of Pollution Index, duration of violation in terms of number of days, scale of operation in terms of micro & small/medium/large industry and location in terms of proximity to the large habitations.

¶36

Note:

¶37

a. The industrial sectors have been categorized into Red, Orange and Green, based on their Pollution Index in the range of 60 to 100, 41 to 59 and 21 to 40, respectively. It was suggested that the average pollution index of 80, 50 and 30 may be taken for calculating the Environmental Compensation for Red, Orange and Green categories of industries, respectively.

¶38

b. 'N', number of days for which violation took place is the period between the day of violation observed/due date of direction's compliance and the day of compliance verified by PCB/SPCB/PCC.

¶39

c. R is a factor in Rupees, which may be a minimum of 100and maximum of 500. It is suggested to consider R as 250, as the Environmental Compensation in cases of violation.

¶40

d. 'S' could be based on small/medium/large industry categorization, which may be 0.5 for micro or small, 1.0 for medium and 1.5 for large units.

¶41

e. LF, could be based on population of the city/town and location of the industrial unit. For the industrial unit located within municipal boundary or up to 10 km distance from the municipal boundary of the city/town, following factors (LF) may be used:

¶42

S.No	Population (Million)	Location Factor (LF)
1	Less than 1	1.0
2	1 to<5	1.25
3	5 to <10	1.5
4	10and above	2.0

¶43

f. In any case, minimum Environmental Compensation has been considered as Rs 5000/day.

¶44

06. Calculation of EC

¶45

¶46

Reference Document	Specific Violation and date of violation noticed	Date compliance intimated/ verified	of	Period violation Days)	of (in
UPPCB CTE Dt. 31.03.2020	The unit actually operated during the period from 04.03.2020 - 23.03.2020 and again from 05.05.2020 to 31.07.2020	None		107

¶47

Actual calculations

¶48

Pl=Pollution Index of industrial sector (taken as '80' considering 'Red Category)

¶49

N=Number of days of violation took place (Violation Period)

¶50

R=A factor in Rupees () (taken as 250

¶51

S=Factor for scale of operation ('0.5' considering scale of operation being 'micr/small')

¶52

LF=Location factor ("1.0' considering population of area being< 1 million)

¶53

ECPlxNxRxSx LF

¶54

= 80 X 107 X 250 X 0.5 X 1.0

¶55

= 10, 70,000.

¶56

Net EC Assessed in ₹: 10,70,000.

¶57

0.7. Recommendations

¶58

Based on status submitted above, it is recommended that the unit and the Project Proponent shall ensure following:

¶59

a. The Unit shall pay Rs 10,70,000/- towards EC calculated as mentioned in item no. 06 above. The EC shall be deposited either with UPPCB or with District Administration, Shamli for further utilization in environmental restoration measures. For utilisation of EC funds, reference be made to the order of Hon'ble NGT in OA No 101/2019; 102/2019 and CPCB Guidelines 18.04.2019

¶60

b. Sand mining activity by the Unit and the Project Proponent shall resume only after satisfactory compliance of conditions imposed in CTE and thereafter, obtaining CTO.

¶61

c. The Unit and the Project Proponent shall strictly adhere to the conditions imposed in EC and the Mining Lease.

¶62

d. District Administration, Shamli; Mining Department of the State and UPPCB shall ensure periodic surveillance to

¶63

¶64

eliminate any scope of defiance by the Unit and the Project Proponent.”

¶65

The report of the Haryana State PCB is as follows:-

¶66

¶67

04. Observations of the Committee

¶68

1. The committee visited the site of both mines i.e. Ms Joginder Singh (North Block) & M/s Elite Mining (south block) on dated 22.01.2021

¶69

2. Both the mines obtained Environmental Clearance as per provisions of Environment Impact Assessment Notification, 2006 from State Environment Impact Assessment Authority, Haryana. Both the mines also obtained Consent to Establish (CTE) & Consent to Operate (CTO) as per provisions of Water Act, 1974 & Air Act, 1981 from Haryana State Pollution Control Board. Further, both the mines also got Mining plan approved from Department of Mines & Geology, Haryana.

¶70

3. As per site observations both Mining were engaged in mechanized River Bed Sand Mining (Minor Mineral)

¶71

4. As per site observations, both mines were engaged in mechanized Mining by using JCB and Tipper / Dumpers / Trucks. As per approved Mining plan M/s Joginder Singh (North Block) permitted to use 8 nos. JCB (1.0 m capacity) & 70 nos. (25 Tones Capacity) of Tippers / Trucks. As per Mining Plan M/s Elite Mining (South Block) permitted to use 7 nos. Excavators (1.3m3 capacity) & 29 nos. dumpers / Trucks (30 Ton Capacity)

¶72

5. The Committee was in opinion to obtain following information from Mining Officer, Yamuna Nagar: -

¶73

(i) Duly approved Mining plan of the area leased to the contractors.

¶74

(ii) Identified areas on the approved plan showing 'to go' and 'no go' areas taking the ricer as an entity.

¶75

(iii) Map showing central line of River and its breaded section within the leased area.

¶76

(iv) Mining execution plan including opening and closing of mining operations during normal and flood flows.

¶77

(v) What does mechanical mining permit number and capacity, rating of equipment to be used to ensure no or minimal impact caused on river flow by maintaining its continuity.

¶78

¶79

(vi) What is effective management of mining operation considering the annual replenishment of sand via a vis course of the River. Verification of benches at mined areas for ensuring the river bed is not touched upon due to mining.

¶80

6. The Mining Officer, Yamuna Nagar responded to the observations of the committee vide their memo no. 556 dated 03.03.2021, copy enclosed as per Annexure, where in the reference were made of approved mining plan only and no conclusive statement on queries of committee were made by the Mining Officer.”

¶81

It is clear from the above that in UP, violations have been found for which compensation has been assessed. In State of Haryana, the mining is said to be in order.

¶82

The applicant submits that there were certain other grievances in the application which have not been addressed to which response of the learned Counsel for the State PCB is that set of papers was not furnished to the State PCB inspite of orders of this Tribunal.

¶83

We note that illegal mining is continuing problem and the Tribunal has passed general orders to deal with the matter of illegal sand mining vide order dated 26.02.2021 in O.A. No. 360/2015, NGT Bar Association v. Virender Singh (State of Gujarat) and other connected matters. The Tribunal had issued following directions:

¶84

“ 1to26..xxx……….……………..xxx……………………………………xxx

¶85

27. We direct all the States/UTs to strictly follow the SSMG2016 read with E MGSM-2020 reinforced by mechanism for preparation of DSRs (in terms of directions of this Tribunal dated 14.10.2020 in Pawan Kumar, supra and 04.11.2020 in Rupesh Pethe, supra), Environment Management Plans, replenishment studies, mine closure plans, grant of EC (in terms of direction dated 13.09.2018 in Satendra Pandey, supra), assessment and recovery of compensation (as per discussion in Para 25), seizure and release of vehicles involved in illegal mining (in terms of order dated 19.02.2020 in Mushtakeem, supra), other safeguards against violations,

¶86

¶87

grievance redressal, accountability of the designated officers and periodical review at higher levels. As already noted, EMGSM-2020 contemplates extensive use of digital technology, including remote sensing.

¶88

28. W e further direct that periodic inspection be conducted by a five-members Committee, headed and coordinated by the SEIAA and comprising CPCB (wherever it has regional office), State PCB and two expert members of SEAC dealing with the subject. Where CPCB regional office is not available, if MoEF&CC regional office is available, its Regional Officer will be included in the Committee. Where neither CPCB nor MoEF&CC regional office exists, Chairman, SEIAA will tie up with the nearest institution of repute such as IIT to nominate an expert for being included in the Committee. Such inspection must be conducted at least thrice for each lease i.e. after expiry of 25% the lease period, then after 50% of the period and finally six months before expiry of the lease period for midway correction and assessment of damage, if any. The reports of such inspections be acted upon and placed on website of the SEIAA. Every lessee, undertaking mining, must have an environment professional to facilitate sustainable mining in terms of the mining plan and environmental norms. This be overseen by the SEIAA. Environment Departments may also develop an appropriate mobile App for receiving and redressing the grievances against the sand mining, including connivance of the authorities and also a mechanism to fix accountability of the concerned officers. Recommendations of the Oversight Committee for the State of UP quoted earlier may be duly taken into account. The mechanism must provide for review at the level of the Chief Secretary at least once in every quarter, in a meeting with all concerned Departments in the State. The Chief Secretary UP may ensure further action in the light of the report of the Oversight Committee.

¶89

Similarly, at National level, such review needs to be conducted atleast once in a year by the Secretary, Environment in coordination with the Secretaries Mining and Jalshakti Ministries the CPCB.

¶90

29. We further direct all the States/UTs to publish their annual reports on the subject and such annual reports may be furnished to MoEF&CC by 30th April every year giving status till 31^st March. First such report as on 31.03.2022 may be filed with the MoEF&CC by all the States/UTs on or before 30.04.2022. The report may also be simultaneously posted on the website of the Environment Department of the States/UTs. Based on such reports, MoEF&CC may consider supplementing its Guidelines from time to time. The MoEF&CC may prepare a consolidated report considering the reports from the States/UTs and publish its own report on the subject, preferably by 31^st May every year.

¶91

¶92

30. We direct the Secretary MoEF&CC to convene a meeting in coordination with the CPCB and Mining and Jalshakti Ministries of Central Government and such other experts/individuals at National level and representatives of States within three months for inter-action on the subject which may be followed by such meetings being convened by the Chief Secretaries in all States in next three months. Holding of such meetings will provide clarity on enforcement strategies and help protection of environment.

¶93

All the applications are disposed of. Individual issues may be gone into in accordance with the mechanism to be involved as above. ”

¶94