National Green Tribunal
Haripad Manna vs District Collector Balasore on 2 November, 2020
Item No. 01
BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL
PRINCIPAL BENCH, NEW DELHI
(Through Video Conferencing)
Original Application No. 63/2020/EZ
Haripada Manna & Anr. Applicant(s)
Versus
District Collector Balasore & Ors. Respondent(s)
Date of hearing: 02.11.2020
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S. P. WANGDI, JUDICIAL MEMBER
HON'BLE MR. SAIBAL DASGUPTA, EXPERT MEMBER
For Applicant(s): Mr. Sankar Prasad Pani, Advocate.
ORDER
1. In this application, the Applicant challenges the interim District Survey Report (DSR) for sand mining for the Balasore district, Odisha. It is alleged that the DSR has been prepared in violation of the guidelines prescribed under the Sustainable Sand Mining Management Guidelines, 2016 and other guidelines in relation thereto. The principal grounds raised in assailing the DSR are as follows:
"i. The DSR is said to be in Interim Report as mentioned in the conclusion part of the report for which the same cannot be relied for taking any final decision in respect of any auction of minor mineral as the DSR is mandatory prior to auction.1
ii. The report does not identify the feasible mining sites, deposition site, erosion prone sites and sites of ecological importance. More importantly this report without any ground survey and site visit by the members of District Level Expert Committee has not been conducted prior to preparation of report.
iii. The DSR is not in accordance with the Sustainable Sand Mining Guideline 2016 and 2020 and in utter disregard to the very objective of the sustainable sand mining.
iv. The DSR so prepared is a sham and fraud on the stauté and it is for name shake to escape from the rigors of law.
v. The report is not based on ground realities and no joint field visit has been carried out by the Water Resource Department, Mining Department and Tahasildar to assess the ground situation and the same is mandatory prior to the report. The report is signed by District Collector, Balasore but do not disclose about the members who have prepared this report and whose inputs and expert opinions were considered for preparing the report. The applicant has information that the report is prepared by one consultant without any filed visit and same is evident from the report also and for that the report cannot be accepted.
vi. No replenishment study has been carried out to understand the replenishment rate of Sand Mining Sources which is mandatory to arrest over exploitation and illegal sand mining.
vii. Only Mahamadnagar Patna Cluster is having more than 20 hectares of area where as the cluster should have been below 10 hectares as per the Sustainable Sand Mining Guidelines 2016 and 2020, hence same is not compatible and consistent with the guideline.
viii. The minimum distance of 2.5Km between two clusters have also not been followed while preparing the list of sand mining leases and the same is evident between 2 Mahamad Nagarpatna and SekhSarai cluster and Benapura.
ix. Subarnarekha River is highly dynamic and River Bank Erosion observed at many places. Mechanical Sand Mining and Wooden Bridges in the river to facilitate the sand mining transportation has damaged the embankment but same were not considered while preparing the DSR to identify the vulnerable and erosion prone sites.
x. Comparative analysis of the Google Earth image clearly reveals that the mechanical and aggressive sand mining has changed the course of river stream, the lease granted are not the deposition area but the erosion area.
xi. Mining activity in zone of erosion can further aggravate the problem of erosion and as such the mining activity can be allowed only in the zone of the deposition. However this aspect has not been considered while preparing the DSR.
xii. In fact earlier reports of Irrigation department apprehending the damages to embankment were being ignored. Further the report prepared without any consultation with the riparian stakeholders including local inhabitants and irrigation department.
2. Heard.
3. Issue notice returnable in six weeks.
4. The Applicant to furnish requisites within one week from hence.
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5. However, in view of the prevalent situation caused by the pandemic, the Applicant is at liberty to serve notice by e- mail apart from the formal notice.
6. In the meanwhile, we deem it necessary to call for a report from a committee comprising of (i) the Regional Office of the MoEF&CC at Bhubaneswar and (ii) the District Magistrate, Balasore district, Odisha, in respect of the allegations contained in the original application before next date with advance copy on the other side. The District Magistrate, Balasore, shall be the Nodal agency.
7. The Applicant shall furnish copies of the Application and this order to the members of the Committee within a week from hence.
8. List on 18.12.2020.
S.P. Wangdi, JM Saibal Dasgupta, EM 2nd November, 2020 O.A. No. 63/2020/EZ avt 4