NGT constitutes committee, to submit report in 8 weeks

New Delhi, Oct 5: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has once again come down heavily against the illegal riverbed mining in Kashmir and this time the tribunal has constituted a high-level committee who are directed to visit the Sukhang River in Beerwah Budgam and submit a factual report within 8 weeks on illegal riverbed mining taking place in Sail village of Beerwah and adjoining areas.

On Friday, the NGT's Principal Bench of Justice Prakash Srivastava (chairperson), Justice  A K Tyagi and Senthil A Veil (expert member) heard a petition filed by social and environmental activist, Raja Muzaffar Bhat, wherein he had alleged that illegal riverbed in Sukhnag was causing environmental disaster plus destroying the aquatic life, especially the trout fish.

Advocate Saurabh Sharma, who is the counsel for the petitioner in this case apprised the NGT principal bench with factual details and produced geo-tagged pictures of the heavy machines and dumpers extracting boulders from the Sukhnag Nallah in violation of J&K's Minor Mineral Concession Rules 2016. The counsel for the petitioner also argued that due to the halting of water flow in May this year more than 2000 fish died in a nearby trout fish farm owned by a local entrepreneur Peerzada Rayees and the government did not take any action even as communication was made between SDM, Tehsildar, and the Fisheries Department.

The Principal Bench headed by Justice Prakash Srivastava in its order directed for the constitution of a committee that would look into the facts and submit the report in eight weeks.

The committee members include the Member Secretary of the Central Pollution Control Board-CPCB, New Delhi, a representative from the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change-MoEFCC, Jammu and Kashmir Pollution Control Committee and the Director Fisheries, J&K government.

“The Member Secretary J&K Pollution Control Committee will act as Nodal Agency in this case,” the order reads.

While expressing satisfaction, the petitioner Bhat thanked the NGT for taking cognisance of his case.

“In addition to environmental damages the people involved in the illegal mining were looting state exchequer as well because riverbed material worth Rs 20 to 25 lakhs was being looted daily from Sukhnag and not even Rs 25,000 are being deposited into the government treasury daily. Only a few crore rupees have been realised by the Geology and Mining Department and loot is on. The illegal work also violates J&K Minor Mineral Concession Rules 2016,” he said.

The matter is again listed for hearing on January 14, 2025.