Disposed

News Item Titled "Bihar Rampant Illegal Sand Mining Threatens Gangetic River Dolphins in Gaga Tributaries" Appearing in News Click Dated 02.09.2024 vs

NGT12 Feb 2026Original Application No. 1184/2024

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

The Tribunal disposed of a suo-moto application concerning rampant illegal sand mining in Bihar's Ganga tributaries threatening Gangetic river dolphins. It scrutinized state measures and directed authorities to identify violators, consider dolphin habitats in lease grants, and impose environmental compensation within six months.

What did the court decide?

Directing Bihar State PCB to levy environmental compensation against violators within six months and file a report.

News Item Titled "Bihar Rampant Illegal Sand Mining… — Environment and Pollution | NGT (2026)

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Item No. 13

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Court No. 1

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BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL PRINCIPAL BENCH, NEW DELHI

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Original Application No. 1184/2024

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News Item titled "Bihar Rampant Illegal Sand Mining Threatens Gangetic River Dolphins in Gaga Tributaries" appearing in News Click dated 02.09.2024

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Date of hearing: 12.02.2026

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CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE PRAKASH SHRIVASTAVA, CHAIRPERSON HON’BLE DR. A. SENTHIL VEL EXPERT MEMBER

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Respondents: Mr. Gigi. C. George, Adv. for NMCG Ms. Suman Arora, Advocate for CPCB (Through VC) Mr. Gautam Singh, Adv. for Bihar SPCB Mr. Azmat H. Amanullah & Ms. Rebecca Mishra, Advs. Advs. for R - 6 Mr. Jasmeet Sin g h, Adv. for MoEF & CC ( Throu g h VC )

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ORDER

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This original application is registered suo-moto on the basis of the news item titled “Bihar Rampant Illegal Sand Mining Threatens Gangetic River Dolphins in Gaga Tributaries” appearing in News Click dated 02.09.2024

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The news item had disclosed that there was severe impact of rampant illegal sand mining on the Gangetic river dolphins and the river ecosystems in State of Bihar. It further disclosed that despite the ban during the monsoon season, illegal sand mining continues unabated in Ganga and its Tributaries including Gandak, Ghaghra, Mahananda, Parman and Kosi.

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As per the news item, large scale illegal sand mining is damaging river beds and their ecology and changing the morphology and natural flow of rivers. As per the news report, large volume of sand is extracted through heavy machines by violators which disrupts the habitat of dolphins and depletes their food resources especially the small fish. The news item further discloses that dolphins are particularly affected by changes in their

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environment because they spend most of their time underwater and come up only briefly to breathe.

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Tribunal by order dated 26.09.2024 had impleaded the concerned respondents and had issued notices to them.

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Respondent nos. 4- and 5- i.e. Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India and National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) have filed the joint reply dated 01.01.2025 admitting that Gangetic river dolphins is an indicator species of river health and rate of sand extraction has serious impact on river eco-system. It also discloses that Gangetic River Dolphins are endangered species and India's national aquatic animal and Bihar is home to a significant population of these dolphins. The disclosures so made by respondent nos. 4 and 5 in their reply are as under:-

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“3. That it is to be mentioned that the rate of sand extraction has farreaching impacts on the ecosystem and human well-being, which are manifested in the form of lower water tables, increased velocity of the flowing water, riverbank erosion, altered ecological regime, and saltwater intrusion;

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4. That the Ganges River Dolphin is an indicator species of river health. Its decline signals broader ecological issues. Sand mining, particularly illegal and unregulated operations, accelerates habitat degradation, making conservation efforts more challenging. Sustainable practices and stricter regulations on sand mining are necessary to mitigate its impact;

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5. That the Gangetic River Dolphins (Platanista gangetica) are endangered species and India's national aquatic animal. Bihar is home to a significant population of these dolphins, and the region's rivers, including the Gandak, Kosi, Son, and Punpun, are vital habitats for their survival. The Ganges River Dolphin's survival is intricately linked to the health of Bihar's river ecosystems. Addressing the impacts of sand mining is critical to ensuring the long-term conservation of this endangered species;”

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The NMCG has also stated that action which has been initiated for Biodiversity Conservation and Aquatic Species Conservation and Maintenance in Gaga River Basin by stating as follows:

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“7. The Phase I project (2016-2019), "Biodiversity Conservation and Ganga Rejuvenation", sanctioned by the NMCG to the WII for a cost of Rs 24.83 Cr, was aimed at conserving biodiversity and restore

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aquatic ecosystems in the Ganga River basin. Further, the Phase II project (2019-2026), "Planning and Management of Aquatic Species Conservation and maintenance of ecosystem services in the Ganga basin for a clean Ganga", has been sanctioned to WII at a cost of Rs 113.99 Cr not only focuses on the ecological health of the Ganga but also emphasizes the socio- economic benefits of a clean and healthy river system;

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8. That these multi-faceted project is a significant component of the NMCG's broader effort to rejuvenate the Ganga, focusing on both species conservation and ecosystem restoration. One of the key deliverables of the projects is species and Habitat Monitoring which includes systematic surveys for flagship species and monitoring biodiversity trends. That the project has successfully mapped critical threats for aquatic biodiversity along with other anthropogenic activities including sand mining areas in the Ganga basin.

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9. That the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti have issued "National Framework for Sediment Management" in October 2022 which provides guidance on various aspects of sediment management;

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10. That the MoEF&CC, vide notification no S.O 1533 (E) dated 14.09.2006, has issued Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006, mandating prior Environment Clearance for regulating potential impacts from certain category of projects, including mining. Further, the regulatory authorities viz the Central Government / State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAAs), have been constituted, under sub-section 3 of section 3 of the Act and these authorities are empowered to grant environment clearance (EC), depending on the category of projects or activities, identified in the schedule, at the central level and at the States/UTs level i.e Category "A" and Category "B" projects in the schedule appended to the Notification, requiring prior environmental clearance from the Central Government/State/UT EIAA, as the case may be. All projects and activates for mining, falling in Category "B" require prior environmental clearance from the SEIAA.

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11. That the EIA Notification, 2006 is amended by the MoEF&CC from time to time. As per the amendment Notification no S.O 1886 (E) dated 20.04.2022, SEIAA have been empowered to grant environment clearance to all minor minerals mining projects, irrespective of mine leases area.”

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Respondent no.3-MoEF&CC has also filed the reply taking the stand that vide notification dated 31.07.2014, the subject matter of river Ganga and its tributaries including river Yamuna has been transferred from MoEF&CC to Ministry of Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation (MoWR&GR) now renamed as Ministry of Jal Shakti.

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The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) by filing the reply dated 02.01.2025 has disclosed the regulatory mechanism to control illegal sand mining. It has also disclosed the polluted stretches of river Ganga in Bihar and action for their improvement.

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Respondent no.6- Department of Mines and Geology, Government of Bihar has filed the reply dated 22.04.2025 disclosing the preventive and deterrent measures which have been taken in State of Bihar as under:-

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“Preventive Measures

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5. It is submitted that the answering Respondent, with a view to deter the persons indulging in illegal sand mining, have brought about an amendment to the Bihar Minerals (Concession, Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation & Storage) Rules, 2019 ("2019 Rules") vide gazette notification dated 03.12.2024. The said amendment has given effect to enhanced compounding fee and rate of fine with respect to illegal mining/transportation of minerals. A web copy of the State Gazette Notification dated 03.12.2024 is annexed herewith and marked as Annexure R-6/1.

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6. In order to continuously implement the 2019 Rules, regular raids, inspections and checks are conducted on every route that may be used for sand mining purposes and legal action is being taken against the persons/vehicles that are found operating without valid documents and/or carrying excess quantity of minerals in terms of the prescribed limits for the concerned vehicle.

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7. Further, the State Government has also constituted a Mining Task Force at the State, Division and District levels to ensure all mining activities are carried out in terms of the mining lease, and to take appropriate action against illegal mining, illegal transportation, over-loading, hoarding and black marketing of minor minerals.

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8. Additionally, the answering Respondent has also established a 24x7 control and command center to monitor the sand mining from sanctioned sand ghats through CCTV cameras.

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9. It is submitted that the State has made it mandatory for vehicles carrying minerals to be painted with a specific colour (Signal Red) w.e.f. 01.07.2024 so that vehicles carrying the mineral can be identified from a distance and illegal transportation can be controlled.

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10. It is stated that check posts equipped with CCTV cameras on major routes of sand mining/transportation are in the process of being established to get intensive checking of vehicles by officials of the answering Respondent and police.

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Deterrent Measures

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11. It is stated that the river Ganga passes through 12 districts within the State of Bihar which are as follows:

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i. Buxar ii. Bhojpur iii. Saran iv. Patna v. Vaishali vi. Samastipur vii. Begusarai viii. Lakhisarai ix. Munger x. Khagaria xi. Bhagalpur xii. Katihar

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12. The following table lists the details with respect to 10 districts within the State on the deterrent and preventive action taken.

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District Mining Office (DMO)	Year	Raids conducted	FIR(s) registered	Vehicles seized	Minerals seized (cu. ft.)	Recovery of penalty (Rs.) (in Lakhs)
Buxar	2023- 24	959	20	346	214225(sand) 7800 (stone)	605.84
	2024- 25	1046	09	288	76731(sand) 26507 (stone)	403.39
Patna	2023- 24	734	306	1501	1049215	1838.93
	2024- 25	1106	270	1022	643371	937.84
Vaishali	2024- 25	1486	39	156	37909	209.05
Shamstipur	2024- 25	507	19	108	21574.57	78.47
Begusarai	2023- 24	552	20	234	34570	258.71
	2024- 25	649	23	170	21140	166.41
Lakhisarai	2023- 24	656	65	636	173665	687.28
	2024- 25	974	137	285	70713	348.82
Munger	2023- 24	318	22	255	82350	323.77
	2024- 25	909	990	208	111683	281.91
Khagaria	2023- 24	462	19	253	61800	207.25
	2024- 25	790	07	91	19350	84.81
Bhagalpur	2023- 24	1826	105	1075	209784	1401.4

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	2024- 25	1116	89	685	164810	855.00
Katihar	2023- 24	474	04	199	71752	259.78
	2024- 25	513	04	212	55348	323.70

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13. The following table lists the details with respect to districts within the State on the deterrent and preventive action taken, in furtherance to the above.

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District Mining Office (DMO)	Year	Raids conducted	FIR(s) registered	Vehicles seized	Arrests made	Recovery of penalty (Rs.) (in Lakhs)
Bhojpur	2023-24	1840	297	1887	165	4377.93
	2024-25 (till 11.03.2025)	1661	251	1057	115	2266.44
Saran	2023-24	1231	777	2163	806	3980.92
	2024-25	1076	623	1124	597	1737.40
Begusarai	2024-25	552	20	234	08	258.71
Shamstipur	2024-25	649	23	170	03	166.41

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Copies of the respective reports pertaining to the above-cited 12 districts are annexed herewith and marked as Annexure R - 6/2

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14. It is further submitted that the Home Department, Government of Bihar, Patna has also been requested to deploy additional police force in areas deemed difficult to access or inaccessible' areas for providing effective action. The answering Respondent, noting that there is a requirement to constitute its own task force in the nature of a police force, is in process of creating its own dedicated *Special Mining Police Force' for effective implementation of the 2019 Rules.”

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The other sustainable measures taken by respondent no.6 are disclosed in the reply as follows:-

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“Sustainability Measures

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15. It is stated that the answering Respondent's, as well as the State's, primary focus is to target instances of (i) illegal mining, (ii) transportation of illegally mined minerals, and (iii) storage of illegally mined minerals.

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16. With a view to provide alternate and legal sources of sand, the State has provided the facility of 'sand ghats' around the ganga river. In the areas (within a district) where sand ghats are not yet available, and hence may be vulnerable, the Mining Development Officer (MDO) and Mining Inspector conduct regular raids to prevent any potential illegal sand-mining. One such district is Katihar, wherein,

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as per the District Survey Report (DSR), at present, there is no sand ghat created.

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17. In the district of Buxar, a total of 45 sand ghats have been proposed for auction, which is also evidenced by Letter no. 301 dated 09.04.2025 issued by the MDO, Buxar. However, at present, the above-mentioned sand ghats have not been awarded to anyone. Moreover, in the district of Buxar, 6 FIRs were registered in 202324, and 3 FIRs in 2024-25. Hence, it may be noted that the answering Respondent is cognizant of the action to be taken and is continuously in attempt to prevent and curb the illegal sand mining.

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18. In the district of Khagaria, as per the DSR, at present, there is no sand ghat created, which is also evidenced by Letter no. 155 dated 09.04.2025 issued by the MDO, Khagaria. However, in like manner of Katihar, the MDO and Mining Inspector conduct regular raids to prevent any potential illegal sand-mining.

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19. The answering Respondent has been developing a next generation Mining Management Software in collaboration with National Informatics Center (NIC) by incorporating latest technologies and good industry practice. The above-quoted software is being adopted across the country in themining sector for delivery of services which aims at the following:

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i. Integrated web mobile technology as enabled for transparency. ii. Dashboards for all stakeholders along with alerts generated for smooth operations.

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iii. Integration with Central mParivahan (MoRTH) Portal to ensure that the vehicle details are verified before issuing e-challan.

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iv. Departmental Officers and general public would also be able to verify details of e-challan through the "KhananSoft" Portal developed by NIC.

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v. The software will be integrated with VLTS (Vehicle Location Tracking System) to track vehicles. The route chart will also be digitized to track deviations in the route and generate alerts accordingly.

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20. In view of the measures taken elaborated hereinabove, it is most respectfully submitted that the answering Respondent and its officials have been duly discharging their duties and are taking the issue of illegal sand mining, particularly in and around the Ganga river, very seriously to protect the natural environment and ecology of the Ganga river. It is further submitted that the measures detailed hereinabove depict that the answering Respondent have taken various steps to curb the menace of illegal sand mining, even in the absence of a Court issued specific direction.

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Merely having a regulatory mechanism and control measures on paper does not result in the effective regulation of the illegal sand mining unless the authorities at the ground level remain vigilant and take strict action to control such illegal sand mining which has a direct impact

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on river ecology of tributaries of river Ganga and river Ganga itself, thereby

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affecting the habitat and existence of gangetic dolphins in the area..

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Respondent no.6 in its subsequent reply dated 27.08.2025 has disclosed the action which has been taken against the persons found involved in illegal sand mining and transportation of illegally mined sand

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as under:-

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4. It is submitted that the answering Respondent has compiled the following tabular chart with reference to all 12 relevant districts (where sand is available/found), for ease of reference of this Hon'ble Tribunal:

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District Mining Office (DMO)	Year	FIR(s) registered	Chargesheet/ Prosecution/ Conviction	Section 379 IPC incorporated
Buxar	2023-25	29	26	29
Patna	2023-25	576	224	576
Vaishali	2024-25	39	28	19
Samastipur	2024-25	19	09	19
Begusarai	2023-25	43	35	43
Lakhisarai	2023-25	202	156	202
Munger	2023-25	112	76	112
Khagaria	2023-25	26	13	26
Bhagalpur	2023-25	194	124	194
Katihar	2023-25	8	4	1
Bhojpur	2023-25	548	548	548
Saran	2024-25	1400	776	1400

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5. Therefore, it is most respectfully submitted that the answering Respondent is complying with the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in State (NCT of Delhi) v. Sanjay, (2014) 9 SCC 772). Copies

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of the respective Reports pertaining to the above-cited 12 districts are annexed herewith and marked as Annexure R-6/1 (Colly).

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6. Further, as for the amount collected from the owners of the violating vehicles seized while releasing the seized vehicles, it is stated that the computation provided in the judgment of this Hon'ble Tribunal in NGT Bar Association vs. Virendra Singh OA No. 360/2015 is being complied with, detailed hereinbelow.

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7. The modus of calculation, as provided in NGT Bar Association (Supra) has been provided hereunder:

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Sr. No.	Category of Vehicle	Penalty Amount
1	Vehicles/Equipments/Excavators with showroom value more than Rs. 25 lacs and less than 5 years old.	Rs. 4 lacs
2	Vehicles/Equipments/Excavators with showroom value more than Rs. 25 lacs and more than 5 years but less than 10 years old.	Rs. 3 lacs
3	For the remaining Vehicles older than 10 years/Equipments/ Excavators which are otherwise legally permissible to be operated and not covered by Serial No. 1 and 2.	Rs. 2 lacs
Note - I: Note II:	On repetition of the offence by the s equipment, Order dated 05.04.2019 The option of release may be availab month from the date of seizure and t vehicles may be confiscated and au	ame vehicle/ will be applicable. le for a period of one hereafter, the ctioned,

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8. It is submitted that in exercise of the powers conferred by section 15 and 23C of the Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, keeping in view the need of hour and Judgment passed by this Hon'ble Tribunal in NGT Bar Association (Supra), the State of Bihar has promulgated and notified the Bihar Mineral (Concession, Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage) (Amendment) Rules, 2021 vide gazette notification dated 05.07.2021, which has brought significant changes towards strictness in prevention of illegal mining.

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9. It is stated that the amended Rule 56 of the 2021 Amended Rules, gives power to the State to compound the offence committed in contravention of the said Rule, on payment of cost of mineral and compound fee, as detailed in the chart in the Rule 56. The said chart forming part of the 2021 Amendment is reproduced hereinbelow:

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S. No. Vehicle/ Equipment Compound Fee (in Rs.) Per Unit

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1 Tractor-Trolley 25,000/-

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2	Matador, Half Truck Model No. 407 & 608	50,000/-
3	Full Body Truck/ Dumper (Hydraulic 6- wheeler vehicle)	1,00,000/-
4	10 or more than 10-wheeler vehicle	2,00,000/-
5	Crane, Excavator, Loader, Power Hammer, Compressor, Drilling Machine, etc.	4,00,000/-

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10. It is further stated that the above computation is in line with the Note No. 2 provided in the chart appended hereinabove extracted from the judgment NGT Bar Association (Supra) wherein it has been stated that the option of release may be available for a period of one month from the date of seizure and thereafter, the vehicles may be confiscated and auctioned.

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11. It is further stated that while bringing about the 2021 Amendment, it was observed that the penalty amount calculation method, if based on Showroom value and the age of the vehicle, may leave scope for manipulation by the concerned violators/offenders. Hence, to streamline imposition of the Penalty/ Compounding Fee, the State has bifurcated the Compounding Fee applicable on the type of Vehicle seized.”

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Though, the above reply reflects that some action has been initiated by the State of Bihar but action against the violators is required to be made more comprehensive and stringent.

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Bihar State PCB has filed the reply affidavit dated 21.08.2025 but the said affidavit does not disclose that Bihar State PCB has taken any action for imposition of environmental compensation upon those who are found to be involved in illegal sand mining and who have caused environmental damage by such unlawful activities.

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Counsel for State of Bihar has already stated that details of persons found involved in illegal sand mining in all the 12 districts have been supplied to Bihar State PCB. The Learned Counsel for State PCB though has submitted that full particulars have not been received but he submits that same will be obtained and needful will be done.

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Having regard to the above, we dispose of the OA directing the respondents’ authorities as under:

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(i) Respondents authorities will take all possible steps to identify the persons/entities involved in illegal sand mining especially in the stretches where gangetic dolphin is found;

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(ii) Respondent authorities while granting the mining leases will duly take into account the stretches where the existence of gangetic dolphin is found and will take all necessary precaution to ensure their preservation and protection. They will try to avoid such stretches while granting lease.

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(iii) Respondent authorities will implement the regulatory framework with full sincerity and seriousness to ensure that no illegal sand mining takes place in the concerned stretches;

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(iv) We direct the Bihar State PCB to levy the environmental compensation against those who are found to be violating the environmental norms and have caused environmental damage by indulging in the illegal sand mining. The Bihar State PCB is directed to complete this exercise within six months and file action taken report before the Registrar General of the Tribunal immediately after six months via email at [email protected], preferably in the form of a searchable PDF/OCR-supported PDF and not in the form of an Image PDF. If deemed necessary, the matter will be listed for consideration before the bench again.

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The OA is accordingly disposed of.

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Prakash Shrivastava, CP

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Dr. A. Senthil Vel, EM

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February 12, 2026 Original Application No. 1184/2024 JG

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News Item Titled "Bihar Rampant Illegal Sand Mining Threatens Gangetic River Dolphins in Gaga Tributaries" Appearing in News Click Dated 02.09.2024 vs

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

News Item Titled "Bihar Rampant Illegal Sand Mining Threatens Gangetic River Dolphins in Gaga Tributaries" Appearing in News Click Dated 02.09.2024 vs

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

What the court decided

A compact analysis

Issues for consideration

Cases cited

Statutes considered

Parties & counsel

Coram

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