The existing interim DSR, which was being used to justify sand mining, was invalid as it had not been submitted to SEIAA for approval, the NGT reiterated in the order.
[Representational Photo : iStock]
The National Green Tribunal (NGT)’s east zone bench in Kolkata has imposed a fresh ban on sand mining activity in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district without the approval of the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA).
The mining operations can only proceed after the DSR is reviewed by the State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) and approved by the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), a two-member Bench of the Tribunal ordered on Friday.
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The existing interim DSR, which was being used to justify sand mining, was invalid as it had not been submitted to SEIAA for approval, the NGT reiterated in the order.
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The interim stay on sand mining, imposed by the tribunal on August 8, 2024, will remain in force till a valid DSR is approved; the NGT stated citing similar judgments in other districts, such as Balasore, where sand mining was stopped for the same reasons.
The petition filed with the NGT by environment activist Bibekananda Pattnaik pointed out that the mandatory replenishment study has not been carried out to understand the replenishment rate of sand mining sources to arrest over-exploitation and illegal sand mining. As a result, riverbank erosion has been observed in several places in the highly dynamic Budhabalanga River, the petition maintained.
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