Allowed

Shivsankar Mohanty v. Railway

NGT15 Jul 2025Original Application No. 142/2024

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

The National Green Tribunal addressed allegations that the Rengali Railway Good Shed operated without adhering to environmental siting guidelines, causing pollution. The Tribunal found the siding ceased operations in 2023 after its consent expired and ordered that no further Consent to Establish be granted unless compliance with guidelines is achieved.

What did the court decide?

No Consent to Establish can be granted by the State Pollution Control Board for the operation of the Rengali Railway Goods Siding in violation of the Guidelines.

Shivsankar Mohanty vs Railway — Environment and Pollution | NGT (2025)

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Item No.09

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Court No.1

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BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL EASTERN ZONE BENCH, KOLKATA

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(THROUGH PHYSICAL HEARING WITH HYBRID MODE)

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Original Application No.142/2024/EZ

Shivsankar Mohanty

Applicant(s)

Versus

Union of India & Ors. Respondent(s)

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Date of hearing : 15.07.2025 Date of uploading : 22.07.2025

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CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE B. AMIT STHALEKAR, JUDICIAL MEMBER HON’BLE DR. ARUN KUMAR VERMA, EXPERT MEMBER

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For Applicant(s) : Mr. Shivsankar Mohanty, in person (in Virtual Mode)

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For Respondent(s) : Mr. Ashok Prasad, Adv. for R-1 & 2,

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Ms. Samapika Mishra, ASC for R-3 & 4 (in Virtual Mode), Mr. Dipanjan Ghosh, Adv. for R-5 & 6

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ORDER

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Mr. Shivsankar Mohanty, the Applicant who appears in person, is present (in Virtual Mode).

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Heard Mr. Shivsankar Mohanty, the Applicant appearing (in Virtual Mode) ; Mr. Ashok Prasad, learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the Respondent Nos.1 and 2, Ministry of Railways, Government of India ; Ms. Samapika Mishra, learned Additional Standing Counsel appearing (in Virtual Mode) on behalf of the State Respondents, Government of Odisha and Mr. Dipanjan Ghosh, learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the Respondent Nos.5 and 6, Odisha State Pollution Control Board.

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(Final order of the said case will be uploaded in NGT website by

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separate sheets of paper)

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B. Amit Sthalekar, JM

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Dr. Arun Kumar Verma, EM

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July 15, 2025, Original Application No.142/2024/EZ SKB

Item No.09

Court No.1

BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL EASTERN ZONE BENCH, KOLKATA

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(THROUGH PHYSICAL HEARING WITH HYBRID MODE)

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Original Application No.142/2024/EZ

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In the matter of:

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Shivsankar Mohanty aged about 45 years s/o late Satya Narayan Mohanty, At- High Court Bar Association, P.O. – Chandnichowk, P.S. – Lalbag, Dist. – Cuttack, Odisha, Pin – 753002

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.... Applicant(s)

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Versus

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1. The Union of India

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represented through it’s Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Ministry of Railways, Government of India, 218, Rail Bhawan, New Delhi – 110001

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2. The Sr. Divisional Commercial Manager, DRM’s Office Complex, At- 2^nd Floor, E. Co. Railway, P.O. – Khetrajpur, Dist – Sambalpur, Odisha, Pin - 768002

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3. The State of Odisha

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represented through it’s Additional Chief Secretary, Forest, Environment and Climate Change Department, Government of Odisha, Kharavel Bhavan, Bhubaneswar, Odisha

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4. The Collector & District Magistrate, Sambalpur

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Kacheri Road, Hands Nagar, Sambalpur, Odisha, Pin – 768001

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5. The Member Secretary

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Odisha State Pollution Control Board, A-118, Unit -VII, Nilakantha Nagar, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, Pin - 751012

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.... Respondent(s)

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Date of hearing : 15.07.2025 Date of uploading : 22.07.2025

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CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE B. AMIT STHALEKAR, JUDICIAL MEMBER HON’BLE DR. ARUN KUMAR VERMA, EXPERT MEMBER

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For Applicant(s) : Mr. Shivsankar Mohanty, in person (in Virtual Mode)

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For Respondent(s) : Mr. Ashok Prasad, Adv. for R-1 & 2,

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Ms. Samapika Mishra, ASC for R-3 & 4 (in Virtual Mode), Mr. Dipanjan Ghosh, Adv. for R-5 & 6

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ORDER

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This Original Application has been filed by the Applicant, alleging that the Rengali Good Shed at Railway Siding of East Coast Railway is located at Rengali Railway Station, Rangali, District-Sambalpur, Odisha, and is using passenger and commercial freight services. It is alleged that the East Coast Railway is carrying on activity of loading and unloading of raw materials at Rengali Railway Siding without having a Consent to Operate from the State Pollution Control Board, Odisha.

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It is stated that the State Highway No.10 passes near the Rengali Railway Siding from Sambalpur to Rourkela; the habitation of Rengali village exists on both sides of the Railway tracks towards East and West direction; at the East side of the Railway Station there are about 5,000 houses having a population of 17,000 to 20,000 people.

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It is further stated that the State Pollution Control Board, Odisha, had given Consent to Operate to Mineral Stack Yard & Railway Siding to store iron ore for a short span of less than one year in violation of Clause 2 of the Guidelines for Environmental Management in Mineral Stack Yards and Railway Sidings dated 16.04.2010. Clause 2 of the said Guidelines provides as under:-

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“2. APPLICABILITY:

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i) The railway-sidings, stack-yards and clusters of stack-yards of minerals, which are already established and operating prior to the date of Board’s Resolution i.e. 16.02.2008 are required to only obtain Consent to operate from the Board.

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ii) to v) xxxx xxxx xxxx

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vi) The applicant can make application for consent to operate for a minimum period of one year; however the validity of consent shall be co-terminus with the financial year.”

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It is further alleged that the coal stack yard of Rengali Good Shed has not provided any boundary wall on the outer side towards the cultivated land and side of the village ; there was fugitive emission; tree plantation as wind barrier along the periphery of the stack yard of East Coast Railways was found to be insufficient.

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It is further alleged that there was coal dust and iron ore dust in entire the residential area which was having a deleterious impact on the health of the populace residing in that area. It is also alleged that untreated water was being discharged resulting in contamination of ground water and water bodies due to which water had become acidic. Air pollution was also alleged.

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It is also alleged that there are no water sprinklers or any dust suppression system inside the stack yard area for control of fugitive emission from the coal stack yard; garland drain is not being maintained around the storage yard for collection and treatment of storm water.

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At the time of admission, the Tribunal also constituted a Fact Finding Committee comprising of the following members :-

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(i) Senior Scientist, Odisha State Pollution Control Board,

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(ii) Collector & District Magistrate, Sambalpur, or his representative not below the rank of Additional District Magistrate

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The Committee was directed to inspect the site in question and submit its Report with regard to the allegations made in the Original Application.

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The Railway Respondents have filed affidavit dated 20.09.2024 and it is stated that M/s Rengali Railway Siding for Storing, Transportation and handling of Iron Ore and Pellets upto 4000 tonne per day (TPD) was granted Consent to Establish (CTE) on 27.01.2022 and Consent to Operate (CTO), also granted on 27.01.2022, by the Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB).

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It is stated that after identifying the scope of Goods traffic at Rengali Good Shed and the demand for handling of inward Iron Ore and Pellets at Rengali Railway Siding, the Respondent No.2 Railways vide its letter dated 23.11.2021 requested the Sarpanch, Rengali Gram Panchayat to issue no objection certificate (‘NOC’ for short) which was granted by the Sarpanch on 26.11.2021 and Consent to Operate (CTO) was also granted for two months valid upto 31.03.2022 along with Consent to Establish dated 27.01.2022. The Rengali Railway station was notified for handling of inward Iron Ore and Pellets by commercial circular dated 10.02.2022 and Consent to Operate for one year was also obtained from the Odisha State Pollution Control Board i.e. valid upto 31.03.2023. However, there is a categorical averment that as on date there is no handling of goods at the Rengali station and that the last Goods train handled at the site was in the month of November 2022.

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This fact has not been disputed by the Applicant who is present in person in the Virtual Mode. The allegations of causing environmental pollution have been categorically denied by the Railways stating that the Siding has not been in operation after November 2022.

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The Odisha State Pollution Control Board has filed affidavit bringing on record an Inspection Report of the Rengali Railway Siding of an inspection carried out on 28.08.2024 which reads as under :-

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“Inspection Report of Rengali Railway Siding of East Coast Railway, At/Po: Rengali, Dist: Sambalpur regarding CTE

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Rengali Railway Siding of East Coast Railway, At/Po: Rengali, Dist: Sambalpur was inspected on dt. 28.08.2024 in connection with consent to establish applied vide online application Id No.:5820528 dtd. 12.08.2024 for handling of Coal traffic at Rengali Goods shed.: 13,500 TPD. The siding was not in operation during the day of inspection. The siding belongs to the East Coast Railway, Sambalpur Division. The coal from the siding shall be transporterd through tarpaulin covered hywas/trucks to nearby Integrated Steel Plant for power generation as reported during the day of inspection.

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Consent to operate status: The siding has been granted consent to establish vide this office letter no.436 dt.27.01.2022 for handling of Iron Ore and Pellets of quantity: 4000 TPD. CTO of the unit is valid upto 31.03.2023 vide this office letter no. 1511 dt. 30.03.2022 and applied upto 31.03.2024 vide online application Id No.: 4790240 dtd. 16.03.2023.

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But for handling of Coal, the unit has applied for Consent to Establish. Total proposed project cost is 1,30,54,340/- and the CTE fees of Rs 15,600/- has been submitted vide online receipt no. 3718670 dt. 09.10.2023.

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Compliance to the provisions stipulated in the guideline for Environmental Management in Mineral Stack yards and Railway Sidings notified by the State Pollution Control Board, Odisha on dt.16.04.2010

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In connection with the previous consent order granted to the siding, the following observations were made as below,

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1. The railway siding has not provided sign board at main entrance gate displaying Name and Address of the Railway

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siding, Name of the occupier, Type of siding, stock quantity on daily basis, validity of CTO of SPCB and Mining license etc.

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2. The railway siding has not provided cemented Boundary wall of 3 m height, all along the boundary of the railway siding to prevent the dust getting air borne.

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3. The railway siding has not installed fixed water sprinkler in railway siding area to suppress the fugitive dust.

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4. The railway siding has not concreted/stone pitched with proper gradient to channelize the runoff into storm drains.

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5. The railway siding has not provided settling tank to arrest suspended particles from being carried away with surface run off to nearby areas.

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6. The railway siding has not developed a green belt inside railway siding premises.

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Other Observations

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1. The letter from the Office of the District Magistrate & Collector, Sambalpur vide their letter no. 7936 dt. 30.04.2024 has been received in our office regarding the siting criteria and suitability of the land for Railway Siding.

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2. On the day of observation, it was observed that there was a Govt. Primary School, Chhauldhipa around 100m from the Railway Siding.

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3. There was a Shiv temple around 120m from the Railway siding.

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4. There was a Govt. Primary School, Station-basti, Rengali around 130m from the Railway siding.

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5. There was a Modern Public School, Rengali around 110m from the Railway siding.

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6. There was a Maa Durga temple around 95m from the Railway siding.

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Recommendation: In view of the above, suitable decision regarding granting of CTE shall be taken in favour of the unit.”

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A perusal of the Report and the observations made therein would show that the Railway Siding has not provided any signboard at the main entrance gate displaying the name and address of the Railway Siding ; Name of Occupier, Type of Siding, Stock Quantity on daily basis ; Validity of Consent to Operate and Mining License etc ; the Railway Siding has not provided cemented boundary wall of 3 mtrs. height all along the boundary of the Railway Siding to prevent dust getting air borne ; the Railway Siding has not installed fixed water sprinkler to suppress fugitive dust ; the Siding has not put in place concreted/stone pitched with proper gradient to channelize the runoff into storm drains; settling tank to arrest suspended particles from being carried away with surface runoff to nearby areas has not been provided ; no greenbelt has been provided inside Railway Siding premises. The Committee also observed that there was a government primary school Chhauldhipa about 100 mtrs. from the Railway Siding ; there was a Shiv Temple about 120 mtrs. from the Railway Siding ; there was a government primary school, Station basti Rengali about 130 mtrs. from the Siding ; there was a Modern Public School Rengali about 110 mtrs. from the Railway Siding and a Maa Durga temple about 95 mtrs. from the Railway Siding.

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The Board has filed a further Inspection Report of an inspection carried out on 09.01.2025 which reads as under :

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“Inspection Report of visit of Rengali Railway Siding regarding Hon’ble NGT in the matter of O.A. No. 142/2024/EZ – Shivsankar Mohanty – Vrs. The Union of India and others

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*************************************************************

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In pursuance of the order dtd. 22.11.2024 of the Hon’ble NGT, EZB, Kolkata in the matter of O.A. No. 142/2024/EZ –

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Shivsankar Mohanty – Vrs. The Union of India Ors., a detailed inspection was conducted on 09.01.2025 to verify the points as reflected in the order dt. 22.11.2024. Sri Santosh Verma, Goods Supervisor, Rengali, ECoR was present during the visit.

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Consent Status:

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Sl.No.	Entity	CTE Status	CTO Stat	us
1.	Handling of Iron Ore and Pellets – 4000 TPD	Letter No. 436 dt. 27.01.2022	First time vide Letter N dt. 27.01 valid 31.03.2022.	CTO o. 439 .2022 upto
			Renewal of	CTO
			vide Letter 1511 30.03.2022 upto 31.03.2	No. dt. valid 023.
2.	Storing, Transportation and Handling of Clinker – 4000 TPD	Letter No. 459 dt. 15.02.2023	Letter No.46 15.02.2023 upto 31.03.2	6 dt. valid 024
3.	Handling of Coal – 13,500 MT/Month	Applied vide Online ID No.5820528 dt.12.08.2024 (Not issued)	Not issued

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Observations :

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1. On the day of visit, the Railway Siding was not in operation.

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2. For verification of the operation of Rengali Railway Siding, the documents available with the Goods supervisor of the Railway Siding were verified.

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3. On enquiring with the representative of the unit, the last handling of Rake at Rengali Railway Siding was done from dt. 12.11.2022 to 13.11.2022.

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4. Further, it was found from the records, that 25 nos. of Rakes of Iron Ore were unloaded at Rengali Railway Siding from dt. 28.02.2022 to dt. 12.11.2022.

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5. However, so far as Iron Ore Pellets are concerned, the Railway Siding has not handled any rakes since the CTO has been granted.

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6. And, so far as Clinker is concerned, the Railway Railway siding has not handled any Rakes since the CTO for clinkers has been granted.

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7. It was found from the records that the Railway Railway siding was not in operation after 31.03.2023.

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8. Few photographs have been taken during the visit.

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Remarks :

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After physical verification of the Railway Siding and records, it is found that the Railway siding was not in operation beyond 31.03.2023. Since the Railway Siding is not in operation after the expiration of valid CTO which was valid upto 31.03.2023, the Railway Siding may not be liable for Environmental Compensation.”

This Report clearly mentions that on the date of the visit, the Railway Siding was not in operation.

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It is categorically stated that last handling of Rake at the Rengali Railway Siding was done from 12.11.2022 to 13.11.2022 and 25 Rakes of Iron Ore were unloaded from 28.02.2022 to 12.11.2022 ; no Rakes of Iron Ore Pellets have been handled ; no Rakes of clinker have been handled at the Railway Siding in question and in any case the Railway Siding was not in operation after 31.03.2023 and a recommendation has been made in the Report after expiration of the Consent to Operate which was otherwise valid upto 31.03.2023.

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The Collector, Sambalpur in his affidavit dated 10.01.2025 has also brought on record another Inspection Report of an inspection carried out on 19.11.2024, perusal of which confirms the findings recorded in the Inspection Report of the inspection carried out on 28.08.2024 which read as under :-

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“Inspection report of visit regarding verification of observations of the Hon’ble NGT in the matter of O.A. No. 142/2024/EZ – Shivsankar Mohanty – Vrs. The Union of India and others

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In pursuance of the order dtd. 11.09.2024 of the Hon’ble NGT, EZB, Kolkata in the matter of O.A. No.142/2024/EZ – Shivsankar Mohanty – Vrs. The Union of India & Ors. and order dtd. 23.07.2024, the railway siding was inspected on dtd. 19.11.2024 per the schedule fixed by the Office of the District Magistrate & Collector, Sambalpur vide letter no. 21879 dtd. 18.11.2024 by the committee formed as per letter no. 12940 dtd. 16.08.2024 of Head Office, State Pollution Control Board, Bhubaneswar.

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The members of the committee are as follows:

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1. Sri Ajambar Mohanty, Addl. District Magistrate, Sambalpur, Odisha

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2. Dr. Satya Narayan Nanda, Regional Officer, State Pollution Control Board, Sambalpur, Odisha

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Apart from the above, the following officials and representatives of the railway were also present during the visit :

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1. Sri Takshakraj Bhitria, Tahsildar, Rengali, Sambalpur

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2. Er. Rakesh Ku. Panda, Asst. Env. Engg. SPCB, Sambalpur

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3. Sri Sunil Sahu, Revenue Inspector, Rengali Tahsil, Sambalpur

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4. Dr. Pradip Dubal, ACM/SBP, ECoR

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5. Sri Chandan Ku. Kaushal, CCI/SBP, ECoR

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6. Sri Santosh Verma, Ch. CC/RGL, ECoR

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7. Sri Sunil Ku. Badi, OS/Comm/RGL, ECoR

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A detailed inspection was made to point as reflected in the orders of

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Hon’ble NGT EZ.

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Observations :

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Following observations were made by the committee during joint enquiry on order dtd. 23.07.2024.

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*Sl.No.*	*Points raised in the order* *dtd. 23.07.2024*	*Observations*
1.	The Original Application has been filed by the applicant, alleging that the Rengali Good Shed at Railway Siding of East Coast Railway is located at Rengali Railway Station, Rengali, Dist.- Sambalpur, Odisha, and is using passenger and commercial freight services. It is alleged that East Coast Railway is carrying on the activity of loading and unloading of raw materials at Rengali Railway Siding without having Consent to Operate from the State Pollution Control Board, Odisha.	It was observed that the railway station at Rengali has 02 (two) nos of platforms for the use of the general public with another track in between being used as a loop line. The platform no. 3 is being alleged as a railway siding. On the day of inspection, it was observed that there was no activity in the loading and unloading of raw materials. Odisha State Pollution Control Board, Sambalpur had granted Consent to operate to Rengali Railway siding for Storing, Transportation, and handling of Iron ore and Pellets – 4000 TPD vide letter 1511 dtd. 30.03.2022 valid upto 31.03.2023. As of the date of inspection, Rengali Railway siding has no valid consent for any Mineral Stack Yard and _Railway Siding. _
2.	It is stated that the State Highway No. 10 passes near the Rengali Railway Siding from Sambalpur to Rourkela; _the habitation of Rengali village _	On the day of visit, it was observed that the SH-10 is around 600 m aerial distance. It was also observed that the major habitation is at the side

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	exists on both sides of the Railway tracks towards East and West direction; at the East side of the Railway Station there are about 5,000 houses having a population of 17,000 to 20,000 people. Yards and Railway Sidings dated 16.04.2010	of Platform no. 1 of Rengali Railway station just opposite side of the propose good shed i.e. Platform No. 3. With regard to the siting and suitability of the land for Railway siding, a letter was communicated from the Office of the District Magistrate & Collectorate, Sambalpur to the Regional Officer, dtd. 26.06.2023 in connection with the renewal of the CTO (consent to operate) application. The railway siding was not installed with pollution control measures during the day of inspection. Therefore, Show cause notice for refusal of consent to operate & issuance direction of closure u/s 25/26 of Water (PCP) Act, 1974 and u/s 21 of Air (PCP) Act, 1981 and rules framed thereafter vide letter no. 2169 dtd. 27.06.2023 was issued for non-compliance to CTO conditions.
4.	It is further alleged that the coal stack yard of Rengali Good Shed has not provided any boundary wall on the outer side towards the cultivated land and village side; there was fugitive emission; tree, plantation as wind barrier along the periphery of the stack yard of East Coast Railways was found to insufficient.	It was observed that there was no provision of boundary wall of required height, or tree plantation as a wind barrier along the periphery of the stack yard. It was also observed that there was no activity of coal loading or unloading on the day of the visit, due to which fugitive emissions could not be assessed.
		However, the Odisha State Pollution Control Board has not granted consent to establish for handling of coal at Rengali railway siding
5.	It is further alleged that there were coal dust and iron ore dust in the residential area having a deleterious impact on the health of the populace residing in that area. It is also	. On the day of visit by the committee, it was observed that there was no activity related to the loading or unloading of any raw material at Rengali Good Shed. It was

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	alleged that untreated water was being discharged resulting in contamination of groundwater and water bodies due to which water became acidic. Air pollution was also alleged.	also observed that there was no water being discharged near the periphery of the Good Shed.
6.	It is also alleged that there are no water sprinklers or any dust suppression system inside the stack yard area for control of fugitive emissions from the coal stack yard; the garland drain is not being maintained around the storage yard for collection and treatment of stormwater.	The alleged point was inspected and it was observed that there were no water sprinklers or any dust suppression system inside the stack yard area for control of fugitive emissions from the loading or unloading activity of raw materials. The unit has also not provided a garland drain and a settling pit for surface runoff. However, the Rengali railway siding doesn’t have any valid Consent to establish/operate for handling any raw materials.

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This Report also mentions that no activity relating to loading or unloading of any raw material was observed at the Railway Siding

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in question.

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From perusal of the three Inspection Reports on record and the pleadings of the parties, it is established that Consent to Establish and Consent to Operate were granted by the Odisha State Pollution Control Board on 27.01.2022 respectively and the Consent to Operate (CTO) was initially valid upto 31.03.2022 for Storing, Transportation and handling of Iron Ore and Pellets was further extended upto 31.03.2023 for Storing, Transportation and handling of Iron Ore and Pellets and also that Consent to Establish was again granted on 15.02.2023.

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Further Consent to Operate (CTO) was granted valid upto 31.03.2023 and again Consent to Operate was granted upto 31.03.2024 but it is found that there was no Goods handling at the Rengali Railway Siding and the last Goods train handled there was in the month of November 2022 which is also confirmed in the Inspection Report which mentions that last handling of Rake at the Rengali Railway Siding was done from 12.11.2022 to 13.11.2022.

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These facts have been admitted by the Applicant also. His only anxiety is that no further Consent to Establish or Consent to Operate should be granted to the Rengali Railway Siding since the said Siding has been established at the site in question in violation of the Siting Criteria laid down by the Odisha State Pollution Control Board titled as ‘Guidelines for Environmental Management in Mineral Stack Yards and Railway Siding’ dated 16.04.2010.

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The siting considerations (Mineral Stack-Yard), in para 4 of the Guidelines read as under :-

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“4. SITING CONSIDERATIONS (MINERAL STACK-YARD) :

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Consent to Establish applications for mineral stack-yards shall be considered on the basis of the following site suitability criteria.

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i) The boundary of proposed site shall be at an aerial distance of at least 100 meter from State/National Highway.

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ii) The boundary of the proposed site shall be at an aerial distance of at least 500 meter away from Schools, Colleges, Hospitals, Archeological monuments and other sensitive areas.

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iii) It shall be ensured that run-off during rain from the proposed site, any water body, which is used by local people, remains at minimum possible level.

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iv) Location of the stack-yard should be such that there is no public inconvenience for parking or movement of vehicles.

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v) The applicant for consent to establish shall obtain a NOC from Sarpanch following a gram sabha if it is proposed in a rural area or obtain NOC from the concerned ULB in case of urban area.

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vi) In case of new cluster the proposed site shall conform to the above stipulations for siting as a whole.”

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In para 7 of the affidavit of the Odisha State Pollution Control Board, it is clearly admitted that there was a government primary school Chhauldhipa about 100 mtrs. from the Railway Siding ; one Shiv Temple about 120 mtrs. from the Siding ; there was a government primary school, Station basti Rengali about 130 mtrs. from the Siding ; there was a modern public school Rengali about 110 mtrs. from the Siding and there was a Maa Durga temple about 95 mtrs. from the Railway Siding in question.

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We have heard Mr. Shivsankar Mohanty, the Applicant appearing (in Virtual Mode) ; Mr. Ashok Prasad, learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the Respondent Nos.1 and 2, Ministry of Railways, Government of India ; Ms. Samapika Mishra, learned Additional Standing Counsel appearing (in Virtual Mode) on behalf of the State Respondents, Government of Odisha and Mr. Dipanjan Ghosh,

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learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the Respondent Nos.5 and 6, Odisha State Pollution Control Board.

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On the facts admitted between the parties as they stand on record, we are surprised as to how the Consent to Establish and Consent to Operate was granted by the Odisha State Pollution Control Board at the initial stage itself. It is undeniably clear that the Odisha State Pollution Control Board by granting Consent to Establish and Consent to Operate, through their letters dated 27.01.2022, had acted in gross violation of their own Guidelines dated 16.04.2010. However, considering that the Siding is presently not in operation and was operated for only about one month, we are of the view that no case is made out for computation of Environmental Compensation against the Railway Siding in question since it has not been alleged by the Odisha Pollution Control Board that the Railway Siding was established at the site in question or granted Consent to Establish or that Consent to Operate was granted by the Board by practicing fraud by the Railways upon the Odisha State Pollution Control Board and in our view, Railways cannot be penalized for the own gross lapses committed by the Odisha State Pollution Control Board while granting Consent to Establish in violation of its own Guidelines dated 16.04.2010.

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However, we are informed that the application of the Railways for further Consent to Establish has been applied online vide Id No.5820528 dated 12.08.2024 for handling of coal at Rengali Goods Shed:- 13500 MT per month and the said application for grant of Consent to Establish is under consideration by the Board as disclosed in the affidavit of the Odisha State Pollution Control Board itself.

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We therefore direct that no Consent to Establish can be granted by the State Pollution Control Board for operation of the Rengali Railway Goods Siding in violation of the Guidelines dated 16.04.2010. We may also observe that grant of statutory Consents will be dependent upon the environmental violations of the previous Consent to Operate conditions noted in the Inspection Reports extracted hereinabove and also mentioned in para 7 of the affidavit of the State Pollution Control Board.

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The present Original Application is disposed of with the aforesaid directions.

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I.As, if any, stand disposed of accordingly. 29. There shall be no order as to costs.

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..................................... B. Amit Sthalekar, JM

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….......................................... Dr. Arun Kumar Verma, EM

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July 15, 2025, Original Application No.142/2024/EZ SKB

¶177

Shivsankar Mohanty v. Railway

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Shivsankar Mohanty v. Railway

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

What the court decided

A compact analysis

Issues for consideration

Statutes considered

Parties & counsel

Coram

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