National Green Tribunal
Bidhu Bhusan Harichandan vs Dist Collector Khurda on 14 October, 2022
Item No.03 Court No.1
BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL
EASTERN ZONE BENCH, KOLKATA
(Through Video Conferencing)
Original Application No.54/2018/EZ
(I.A. No. 39/2020/EZ)
In the matter of:
1. Bidu Bhusan Harichandan
S/o Baisnab Charani Harichandan
At/PO- Nijigarhtapang,
PS- Khurdha Sadar,
Dist.- Khurdha, Pin-752018
2. Dilip Kumar Samantaray
S/o Lingaraj Samantaray,
Aged about 30 years,
Resident of Plot No.3839/8,
Malay Vihar, GGP Colony Rasulgarh,
Bhubaneswar, Odisha-751010
........Applicant(s)
Versus
1. District Collector, Khurdha
At/PO- Khurdha, Odisha-751001
2. Member Secretary,
Odisha State Pollution Control Board,
A/118, Unit-VII, Nilakantha Nagar,
Bhubaneswar, PIN-751012, Odisha
3. Member Secretary,
State Environment Impact Assessment Authority, Odisha
QR No.5RF-2/1, Unit IX,
Bhubaneswar, Odisha-751022
4. Chief Administrator
Sree Jagannath Temple Administration,
At/PO- Puri, Dist.- Puri, Odisha
5. Tahasildar, Khurdha
At/PO/PS- Khurdha, Odisha-751001
6. Additional Chief Secretary,
Forest and Environment Department,
Government of Odisha, Secretariat Building,
Bhubaneswar-751001
7. Secretary,
Revenue and Disaster Management Department,
Government of Odisha, Secretariat Building,
Bhubaneswar-751001
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8. Superintendent of Police
At/PO- Khurdha, Dist.- Khurdha,
PIN-755001, Odisha
9. Director of Mines,
Bhubaneswar
........Respondent(s)
Date of hearing: 14.10.2022
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE B. AMIT STHALEKAR, JUDICIAL MEMBER
HON'BLE MR. SAIBAL DASGUPTA, EXPERT MEMBER
For Applicant(s) : Mr. Sankar Prasad Pani, Advocate (in Virtual Mode)
For Respondent(s) : Mr. Rajesh Tripathy, Advocate for R-1, 5, 8 & 9,
Ms. Papiya Banerjee Bihani, Advocate for R-2,
Mr. Gora Chand Roy Choudhury, Advocate for R-3 (in Virtual Mode),
Mr. Subrat Satpathy, Advocate for R-4 (in Virtual Mode),
Mr. Surendra Kumar, Advocate for CPCB
ORDER
1. Mr. Sankar Prasad Pani, learned Counsel is present (in Virtual Mode) for the Applicants.
2. The Applicant alleges illegal Laterite Stone Mining at 40 different sites in the Khurdha District of Odisha to an extent of about 500 acres encompassing several villages including Tapanga, Anda and Jhinki Jhari under Nijigarh Tapang Panchayat. The area involves amongst others, Cashew Jungle, Gramya Jungle and Gochar land. Neither Environmental Clearance nor Consent to Operate have been obtained from the respective authorities. In the process of the mining activities, trees are being felled for clearing the area.
3. Notices were issued to the Respondents for filing their responses.
4. Considering the allegations made in the Original Application, the Tribunal also constituted a Committee comprising of the following members: -
a) Senior Scientist/Engineer, Central Pollution Control Board;
b) District Magistrate Khurdha;2
c) Member Secretary, State Environment Impact Assessment Authority, Odisha; and
d) Representative of the Odisha State Pollution Control Board
5. The Committee was directed to assess the quantity of mined minerals, its value, loss to the environment on ground of illegal extraction and cost of restitution of the environment and thereafter submit its Action Taken Report.
6. Reply affidavit dated 01.07.2019 has been filed on behalf of the Respondent No.4, Shree Jagannath Temple Administration, Puri, stating therein that 26 Laterite Stone Quarries have been detected by the Temple Administration over Temple land in Mouza- Dakhineswar, Nijagarhtapanga, Jhinkijhari, Narasingh Prasad, Chhatipur & Dhaulimunha in Khurdha District for purposes of auction of these quarries', and notices were duly published by the Sub-Collector, Khurdha-cum-Competent Authority vide Temple Office Notice No.2513 dated 08.03.2019.
7. It is stated that out of these 26 quarries in respect of Narasingh Prasad (Ka) Laterite & Morrum Quarry (Sl. No.22) of Village- Narasingh Prasad, 03 persons participated in the auction and one Satya Multiplex Pvt. Ltd. has been selected as the highest bidder but no work order has been issued in its favour till date. In respect of Narasingh Prasad (Ga) Laterite & Morrum Quarry (Sl. No.24) of Village-Narasingh Prasad only one person filed the tender papers and no tender papers have been received for rest of the quarries as a result of which auction of these quarries has not yet been finalized.
8. The Committee constituted by the Tribunal also submitted its Action Taken Report which reads as under: -
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"At Jhinkijhari all the mines are illegal and mostly rat hole mining is in practice. Provisions of mines Acts 1952 and Rules Regulations made there is not followed and hence no safety of the workmen prevails.
Few mines are also found to be dangerously abandoned.
Illegal mines are running in an utmost unsafe and uncared manner.
It is observed that mines have been working since long without during consideration to safe bench formation leaving step walls in the quarry which is quite dangerous for the wildlife in an around.
No sprinkler, garland drain or catch drain and toe walls found around the over burden dumps.
Abrupt dumping of over burden with improper slope noticed everywhere.
The committee did not observe any operational activity or presence of any worker during the visit in the illegal mining are which is under the custodian of Jagannath Temple.
The environment management plan needs to be followed which was totally absent.
Measures for dust suppression.
Water pollution control measures Storage of top soil/rejects.
Land reclamation After visit of the committee it was decided that the area has to be reclaimed by filling of the rat hole mining with permissible material. It was also decided to make some water harvesting structures. The plan for such reclamation is given at Annexure-III."
9. Subsequently, another Joint Committee Report dated 06.11.2019 was filed by the Committee which reads as under: - 4
"In obedience to the order of Hon'ble NGT dtd. 06.09.2019 in connection with Joint Committee report relating to above order in O.A. No. 54/2018/EZ, the committee comprising of Sub- Collector-cum-Tehsildar, Khordha, Regional Officer, State Pollution Control Board, Bhubaneswar and representative of Member Secretary, SEIAA have visited the illegal operated Laterite mines in the villages like Tapang, and, Jhinkijhari under Nijigarh Tapang Panchayat in the District of Khordha on 1st November, 2019. During visit to the sites the committee members observed that there was no mining activity going on in these areas. There is constant enforcement activity by the District Administration is going on in this area and the illegal mining has been stopped. In respect with the order of Hon'ble NGT for calculation of environmental damage caused and the cost of restitution, we are of the opinion that Hon'ble NGT, New Delhi vide order dtd. 13.09.2018 in O.A. No. 186/2016. It has been made clear that one guideline has to be prepared by the MoEF&CC Govt. of India. As and when the above guideline will be issued by the MoEF&CC, we shall prepare and submit the same. Also, on 4th November, 2019 the officials of Cuttack Mining circle, Odisha along with the staff of Lord Shree Jagannath Temple Administration, RI and Amina of Khordha circle had visited the area for assessment of quantity of Laterite stone excavated illegally from those areas. The report on assessment of quantity of Laterite mined submitted by Mining Officer, Cuttack Circle, Cuttack vide letter No. 2209 dtd. 05.11.2019 is enclosed as Annexure-I."
10. These two Reports presented a contradictory picture inasmuch as while the first Report mentions illegal mining which is almost rat- hole mining at Jhinkijhari, the subsequent Joint Committee Report states that no mining activities is going on in these areas.
11. The Tribunal, therefore, by its order dated 20.11.2019 directed the Committee to explain the discrepancies in its two Reports. 5
12. The Tribunal by another order dated 20.01.2020 directed the State Government to furnish the details of the Action Plan in relation to:
i) Assessment of the damage caused to the area;
ii) Assessment of environmental compensation which shall be done in consultation with the CPCB which has formulated a guideline in this regard; and
iii) Restitution and restoration of the area and also state the timeline for completion of the Action Plan.
13. On 01.10.2020, the Tribunal passed the following orders: -
"9. It is not understood as to how Environmental Compensation is being recovered from the drivers of the trucks instead of the person running the illegal mines and as to how Sri. Jagannath Temple Administration could be permitted to extract the mineral without first obtaining the EC by following the due process.
10. In our considered opinion, the exercise undertaken by the Government is an attempt to hoodwink the Tribunal in order to protect the perpetrators of the illegality. Although, the learned State Counsel had earlier submitted that the STF had been investigating the matter, no material particulars have been furnished in support of such submission. It also surprises us to note that in the entire episode, the State PCB has remained mute spectator.
11. In view of above, we direct the Committee to once again examine and submit a report on the identification of the 7 persons running the illegal quarry and as to whether or not the unavoidable EIA process had been followed while permitting Sri Jaganath Temple Administration to mine the area."
14. On 02.12.2020, a Report was filed by the Sub-Collector/S.D.M., Khurdha. The relevant extracts of this Report are as follows: - 6
"Proceeding of the meeting of the Committee constituted to comply by the direction of Ho'nble NGT on order dated 01.10.2020 in O.A. No. 54/2018/EZ.
The Committee constituted to comply the direction of Hon'ble NGT in O.A. No. 54/2018/EZ met thrice on dt. 29.10.2020, dt. 18.11.2020 and dt. 27.11.2020 subsequent to the issue of order dt. 01.10.2020 of Hon'ble NGT to deliberate and to take action for complying with the orders of the Hon'ble NGT, in the aforesaid O.A. The committee has forwarded its recommendations and based on its recommendation, the following actions has been taken to comply with the orders of Hon'ble NGT, as below: -
(i) To comply with the orders dt. 17.03.2020 of Hon'ble NGT the authorized officer, i.e., the Sub-Collector, Khordha has already made deposit of Rs. 50,000/-
before the Hon'ble NGT through Demand Draft which has been communicated vide letter No. 6261 dt. 26.11.2020 (sent through speed post), with necessary sanction of such funds by Collector, Khordha.
(ii) The committee has further to reiterate that, it has not recommended to recover the environmental compensation from the drivers of the vehicles, but from the owners/operators unauthorizedly and illegally transporting the materials. Accordingly, notices have been sent.
(iii) Based on its recommendation, another committee has been formed under orders of Collector, Khordhaa having IIC, Sadar Police Station, Khordha, Tahasildar, Khordha, ASO, Shri Jagannath Temple, Administration & RI, Khordha Sadar to enquire, ascertain and identify the persons who were operating the said mines illegally. As learnt, the investigation is in preliminary stage and 7 requires more time to conclusively establish and identify such persons.
(iv) The committee further decided that, Shree Jagannath Temple Administration, Puri can neither operate the sources without Environmental Clearance and other requisites as per OMMC Rules, 2016, nor it has been allowed so at any point of time, as appraised to the committee.
(v) Collector, Khordha requested Shree Jagannath Temple Administration, Puri the owner of land for restitution and restoration of land by reclaiming of land with pulverized ash/fly ash and to take up afforestation immediately after reclamation.
Accordingly, Shree Jagannath Temple Administration, Puri submitted an Action Plan for reclamation and restitution of the area which is annexed at Annexure-A.
(vi) Besides, as placed before the committee, the Sub-
Collector, Khordha has conducted a meeting in Village-Tapanga to mobilize community and village involving the local community for protection of the area."
The Tribunal noted that the Committee had failed to pin point and identify the persons who had carried on the illegal mining of "Laterite Stone", although, it has been established that it would be Shree Jagannath Temple Administration, Puri which had auctioned the mines and the mining has also been carried on over an extensive area.
The Tribunal, therefore, directed the Committee to submit an Action Plan for restitution and restoration of the land by reclaiming it with pulverized fly ash and to take up afforestation immediately after reclamation.
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15. The Action Plan submitted by Shree Jagannath Temple Administration, Puri, was not found to be satisfactory as it did not even mention the area covered by the Action Plan nor what quantity of pulverized fly ash was being used to fill up the mines or what action has been taken for afforestation and renovation of deep sites for transformation into small water bodies.
16. The matter was, therefore, again considered by the Tribunal on 24.12.2021 and referring to the I.A. No.39/2020/EZ filed by the Sub-Collector, Khurdha, seeking direction to the State Pollution Control Board to recover the compensation from the owners of the vehicles transporting mineral amounting to Rs.1,80,46,411/- (Rupees One crore eighty lakhs forty-six thousand four hundred eleven only) was rejected by the Tribunal and it was observed that compensation has to be recovered not only from the drivers but also from the persons undertaking/carrying on illegal mining who needed to be identified.
17. The Collector, Khurdha, thereafter, has filed affidavit dated 03.12.2021 wherein it determined the cost of the Action Plan for filling of abandoned quarries with fly ash and top soil with morrum along with other miscellaneous charges at Rs.11,75,00,000/- (Rupees Eleven crore seventy-five lakhs only). Grand total expenditure for renovation, restitution and reclamation was determined at "Rs. 11.75 crores or say Rs.12 crores".
18. The Tribunal accordingly by its order dated 24.12.2021 directed that the Home Secretary, DGP and Chairman, State Pollution Control Board, Odisha hold a joint meeting within two weeks and constitute an appropriate Special Task Forest (STF) to consider registering a criminal case for investigation of the crime in 9 question, to identify the violators and bring them to justice. Apart from such action, the Tribunal felt that there is a need for further preventive and remedial action for protection of environment and enforcement of environmental laws, including recovery of compensation and restoration measures. The Tribunal, therefore, constituted a Joint Committee comprising of MoEF&CC (Regional Office at Bhubaneswar), CPCB, State PCB, SEIAA, Odisha and District Magistrate, Khurda who would meet within two weeks to plan remedial action. The State Pollution Control Board was designated as the nodal agency for coordination and compliance. The Committee would undertake visit to the site, interact with the stakeholders and plan further action. The Committee would also identify the law violators in coordination with the investigators or otherwise, and proceed against them for enforcement of environmental norms, including action for stopping the illegal mining and furnish Action Taken Report within four months.
19. Affidavit dated 08.08.2022 has been filed by the Respondent No.2, Odisha State Pollution Control Board, wherein it is stated that the Action Taken Report of the Joint Committee is outlined. Paragraphs 3 of the affidavit and its sub paragraphs and also paragraph 4 and its sub paragraphs read as under: -
1. "That I am the Member Secretary of the Respondent No.2 Board and, as such, am well-acquainted with the facts and circumstances with the case and competent to swear this affidavit.
2. That in compliance to the direction dtd. 24.12.2021 of this Hon'ble Tribunal, the R.No.2 Board as a Nodal Agency has filed the report of the Joint Committee in the affidavit dtd.29.06.2022.10
3. That this Hon'ble Tribunal after taking into consideration the Joint Committee report indicated above in their order dtd.07.07.2022 has made the following observations:
(i) A perusal of this report, inter-alia, shows that 26 numbers of laterite stone quarries have been identified and notified for auction out of which 4 stone quarries have been auctioned and out of four, only one laterite stone quarry operator has obtained Environmental Clearance from the SEIAA, (MoEF&CC), Consent to Establish and Consent to Operate from the Odisha State Pollution Control Board. What is the status of other three auctioned quarries has not been mentioned. It is also not clear whether these three quarries have started operations in the absence of Environmental Clearance, Consent to establish and Consent to Operate, and if so what action has been taken by the Board against them.
(ii) It is further stated in the report that to stop the illegal mining from Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA for short) land, about 40 black stone quarries and 2 laterite stone quarries have been auctioned and the lessee have obtained Environmental Clearance from SEIAA (MoEF&CC) and Consent to Establish and Consent to Operate from the Odisha State Pollution Control Board. It is not clear whether these 40 black stone quarries are different from the 26 laterite stone quarries or they are the same.
(iii) The list which has been filed at page no. 182 of the paper book is a list of 59 quarries comprising of cumulative area of 15.50 hectares where the illegal excavation was going on as provided by the SJTA. These figures do not tally with the 11 figures mentioned in the Report of 40 + 26 = 66 stone quarries. This affidavit does not even show as to what action has been taken against where the illegal excavation has been made as disclosed by the SJTA itself.
4. That the point wise information/clarification on the aforesaid observations are given below:
(a) As against the observation indicated at 3(i) above, it is humbly submitted that as per the information received from Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), 26 nos. of laterite stone / morrum quarries have been identified. Out of which, 4 laterite stone / morrum quarries have been auctioned.
Three numbers of quarries obtained
environmental clearance out of the said four
auctioned laterite stone / morrum quarries and one laterite stone / morrum quarry is yet to obtain environmental clearance from the appropriate authority.
As regards the three quarries with valid environmental clearance, only one laterite stone / morrum quarry has obtained consent to establish and operate from the R.No.2 Board.
The detail status report provided by the SJTA vide their letter No.8102 dtd.20.07.2022 to this effect is annexed to this affidavit.
(b) That as against the observation indicated at 3(ii) above, it is humbly submitted that the recent data received from SJTA annexed in the present affidavit discloses that 72 nos. of black / building stone quarries have been identified for auction. The detail break-up of the aforesaid 72 nos. of black / building stone quarries have also been indicated in the 12 present affidavit. Further, it is clarified that the 40 nos. of black / building stone quarries are distinct and different from the 26 laterite stone / morrum quarries. As regards the 2 nos. of auctioned laterite stone quarries indicated in the joint committee report, the same has been mentioned inadvertently as against 4 auctioned, which is out of the 26 laterite stone quarries indicated at para 4(a) of the present affidavit.
(c) That as against the observation indicated at 3(iii) above, it is humbly submitted that the list of 59 quarries indicated in the joint committee report has been derived from the affidavit of the Collector & District Magistrate, Khurda dtd.03.12.2021, the details of which has been annexed in the said affidavit.
It is further clarified that as per the information provided by SJTA, Puri (R.No.4) vide their letter No.8916 dtd.06.08.2022 addressed to the Regional Officer, Bhubaneswar of the R.No.2 Board, the 59 quarries indicated above are included with the list of laterite stone / morrum quarry and black / building stone quarry indicated in the joint committee report. The information received from the SJTA shows that in the meantime, the figures of 40 nos. of black / building stone quarry indicated in the joint committee has been increased to 72.
As regards the other observation of the Hon'ble Tribunal about the action taken against illegal excavation has been made, the said aspect has already been dealt with in the affidavit dtd.03.12.2021 of the Collector & D.M., Khurda (R.No.1) at para-6 read with Annexure-A/3 of the said affidavit. In the meantime, the Regional Officer, Bhubaneswar-cum-Nodal Officer of the Joint 13 Committee along with Sri Anil Kumar Panigrahi, Asst. Settlement Officer (ASO) of SJTA, Puri visited the alleged area on dtd.06.08.2022 and it is reported that no illegal activity is going on and the land are in abandoned state with some vegetation and in some abandoned quarries water has been filled. The constitution of enforcement squad / team by the Collector & DM, Khurda has also been indicated in the said inspection report.
5. That the Respondent No.2 Board craves the leave of this Hon'ble Tribunal to file further affidavit for proper adjudication of the case.
6. That the annexure annexed to the present affidavit is true and correct copy of its original.
7. That the contents of the above paragraphs are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, as derived from the official records, and that nothing material has been concealed therefrom."
20. An additional affidavit dated 10.10.2022 has been filed by the Respondent No.2, Odisha State Pollution Control Board. Paragraph 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9 of which may be extracted herein below: -
5. That the information submitted reveals that there are 72 nos. of Black / Building Stone Quarries. Out of 72, auction has been made in respect of 64 quarries and environmental clearance has been obtained by 46 quarries, Consent to Establish has been obtained by 40 nos. of quarries and 27 nos. of quarries have obtained Consent to Operate. Out of 72 quarries, only 27 nos. of quarries, who have obtained Environmental Clearance, Consent to Establish and Consent to Operate are in operation.
6. That it is humbly submitted that out of the 72 Black / Building Stone Quarries, only 64 quarries have been 14 leased out and the details of lessee has been reflected in the appropriate column under the heading "Name of Lessee". So far as the rest 8 nos. of quarries are concerned, no auction has been made for which under the heading "Name of Lessee", the same has been left blank, but under the heading "Operational Status & Other Remarks", the same has been indicated "to be auctioned" (Sl. No.6,7,8,48,49,54,55 and 58).
7. That it is humbly submitted that 26 nos. of laterite stone quarries are existing, out of which 4 nos. of quarries have been auctioned and from this 4 nos. of quarries, 3 have obtained environmental clearance, 3 nos. have obtained Consent to Establish and 3 nos. have obtained Consent to Operate, which has been reflected in the respective column of the list. Out of the 26 nos. of laterite stone quarries, only 3 are in operation, which have obtained Environmental Clearance, Consent to Establish and Consent to Operate.
8. That further, it is humbly submitted that the status of laterite and morrum stone quarries also discloses under the heading "Operational Status and Other Remarks" it has been indicated as "Extinction proposal ready for submission" numbering 22 (except Sl.No.5,16,19 & 20).
In other words, it is clarified that during the course of discussion with the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration, Puri by the Regional Officer, Bhubaneswar of the R.No.2 Board, it is ascertained that in future no mining operation will be undertaken in respect of the above 22 quarries and restoration work will be undertaken in those quarries.
9. That it is further humbly submitted that it is evident that out of the total 98 nos. quarries belonging to Shree Jagannath Temple Administration i.e. 72 nos. of Black / Building Stone Quarries and 26 nos. of Laterite Stone / Morrum Quarries, only 27 Black Stone quarries (Sl Nos.10, 15 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 40, 41, 43, 46, 52, 61, 64, 66, 67, 68 and 72) and 3 Nos. of Laterite Stone / Morrum Quarries (Sl. Nos. 5, 19 and 20) to whom Environmental Clearance by the SEIAA, Odisha and Consent to Establish and Consent to Operate have been granted by the R.No.2 Board through its Regional Office, Bhubaneswar are in operation and the rest are not in operation, which has been indicated in the column under the heading "Operational Status and Other Remarks".
21. From perusal of the facts which have now been brought on record, it shows that there are 72 Black/Building Stone Quarries. It is stated that out of these 72 quarries, 64 quarries have been auctioned and Environmental Clearance has been obtained by 46 quarries which shows that 18 quarries which have been auctioned have no Environmental Clearance till date. Consent to Establish (CTE) has been obtained by 40 quarries and 20 quarries have obtained Consent to Operate (CTO). This shows that 24 quarries do not have Consent to Establish (CTE) and 37 quarries have not obtained Consent to Operate (CTO). It is also stated that out of these 72 quarries only 27 quarries have obtained Environmental Clearance, Consent to Establish (CTE) and Consent to Operate (CTO) and are operating at present.
22. It is further stated that out of 26 Laterite Stone Quarries, 4 stone quarries have been auctioned and out of these 4 stone quarries, 3 have obtained Environmental Clearance, 3 have obtained Consent to Establish (CTE) and 3 have obtained Consent to Operate (CTO). Thus, one laterite stone quarry neither has Environmental Clearance nor Consent to Establish (CTE) nor Consent to Operate (CTO).
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23. It is also stated that after discussion with the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration, Puri by the Regional Officer, Bhubaneswar, Odisha State Pollution Control Board, Respondent No.2, in future no mining operation will be undertaken in respect of the above 22 quarries and restoration work will be undertaken in those quarries.
24. In our opinion, there appears to be a mis-calculation in the figures since out of 26 Laterite Stone Quarries only 4 have been auctioned out of which one quarry neither has Environmental Clearance nor Consent to Establish (CTE) nor Consent to Operate (CTO), this means that there shall be 23 quarries and not 22 quarries, which shall not be operated in future and for which restoration work will be undertaken.
25. Mr. Subrat Satpathy, learned Counsel appearing for the Respondent No.4, Shree Jagannath Temple Administration, Puri, however, stated that the administration of the said Temple is being managed by the State Government and all developmental works are being carried out by the State Government.
26. Be that as it may, since the cost of renovation, reclamation and restitution of the quarries has been estimated at Rs.12,00,00,000/- (Rupees Twelve crores only), we direct the Respondent No.4, Shree Jagannath Temple Administration, to deposit the amount of Rs.12,00,00,000/- (Rupees Twelve crores only) with the Respondent No.1, District Collector, Khurdha, who shall constitute a Committee for purposes of carrying out the work of restitution, reclamation and renovation of the excavated areas as per plan already prepared and complete the entire work within four months. An Action Taken Report on affidavit shall be filed by the District Collector, Khurdha by 31.03.2023. 17
27. With the aforesaid directions, the Original Application No.54/2018/EZ is accordingly disposed of.
28. In view of above, the I.A. No.39/2020/EZ is also disposed of.
29. There shall be no order as to costs.
..................................... B. Amit Sthalekar, JM ...................................
Saibal Dasgupta, EM October 14, 2022 Original Application No.54/2018/EZ (I.A. No. 39/2020/EZ) MN 18