India News | Illegal Mining Case: NGT Closes Matter Against Two Companies in Himachal's Sirmaur
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has disposed of a complaint of illegal and unscientific mining against two firms -- Jai Singh Thakur and Sons and Balbir Singh Supa Ram -- after finding "substantial" compliance with its earlier directions.
Shimla, July 23 (PTI) The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has disposed of a complaint of illegal and unscientific mining against two firms -- Jai Singh Thakur and Sons and Balbir Singh Supa Ram -- after finding "substantial" compliance with its earlier directions.
A bench comprising NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Expert Member A Senthil Vel had constituted a joint committee on May 3, 2023, to investigate the matter and take preventive action if violations were found.
The detailed order of the tribunal was uploaded on its website on Wednesday.
NGT's verdict came on the complaint of one Dinesh Kumar who alleged that the two companies were carrying out illegal mining in Banaur village in Himachal Pradesh's Sirmour district.
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Based on the committee's report, the tribunal disposed of the miscellaneous application (MA) on October 5, 2023. The panel had flagged the need to raise the height of the retaining structure to prevent debris flow during floods.
The joint committee reached to the conclusion that there was apprehension of flow down of muck in case of flood in future and the retaining structure constructed earlier had already piled up with mining waste.
It advised the leaseholders to increase the height of the retaining structure so that the further flow of debris did not spillover to nearby lands.
The compliance report showed that 60 per cent of the protection work at Bohar Limestone Mine of Jai Singh Thakur and Sons had been completed, while the Balbir Singh Supa Ram has been non-operational since June 24, 2023.
"In view of the compliance reports, we find that the order of the tribunal has been substantially complied with," the NGT observed.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)