ILLEGAL RIVERBED MINING IN DOODH GANGA AT CHADOORA | Rs 15 lakh, interim penalty imposed on contractors

New Delhi, Mar 17:  The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed an interim penalty of over Rs 15.79 lakh on two contractors (project proponents) for using heavy machinery to undertake riverbed mining in the Doodh Ganga stream near Chadoora town.

The tribunal directed the J&K Pollution Control Committee and District Magistrate Budgam to recover the compensation within two months from two contractors.

The contractors have also been asked to stop the mining work in Doodh Ganga forthwith.

NGT’s bench of Justice Sudhir Aggarwal (judicial member) and Senthil Veil (expert member) had reserved this judgement in December last year.

While passing the final order on March 15, 2024, on Raja Muzaffar Bhat’s application Justice Sudhir Aggarwal, judicial member NGT, said: “In respect of illegal mining, the manner in which environmental compensation should be imposed has been specifically dealt with by the Supreme Court in Goa Foundation versus Union of India and Others, (2014) 6 SCC 590. The Supreme Court relied on Samaj Parivartana Samudaya and Others versus State of Karnataka and others, (2013) 8 SCC 209, and held that 10 percent of the sale price of iron ore during e-auction should be taken as compensation.”

To arrive at this view, the court observed that this was an appropriate compensation given that mining could not completely stop due to its contribution towards employment and revenue generation for the State.

The NGT order said that the cost of restoration of the environment as well as the cost of ecological services should be part of the compensation.

“‘Polluter pays principle,’ as interpreted by this court means that absolute liability for harm to the environment extends not only to compensate victims of pollution but also the cost of restoring environmental degradation. Remediation of damaged environment is part of the process of ‘sustainable development’ and as such the polluter is liable to pay the cost the individual sufferers as well as the cost of reversing the damaged ecology,” the order reads.

The tribunal observed that in the present case, environmental compensation for illegal mining has to be computed in the light of the principles laid down by the Supreme Court in Goa Foundation versus the Union of India and others.

Justice Sudhir Aggarwal in his order said that the compensation would be determined by JKPCC.

The order reads: “Respondent JKPCC is, therefore, under an obligation to consider the issue of imposition of environmental compensation and other prohibitive and punitive action against respondents 5 and 6 following the law. Environmental compensation could have been determined by this Tribunal also but in the absence of the requisite information regarding the quantum of mineral extracted by respondents 5 and 6, the sale price of mineral and the actual period of mining activities, we find it difficult to make any such final computation, therefore, we find it appropriate to direct JKPCC to proceed to compute environmental compensation as per law, besides taking other prohibitive and punitive action against respondents 5 and 6 and remedial action for rejuvenation and restoration of the damage caused to the environment.”