Environment

Daily Court Digest: Major environment orders (May 13, 2025)

Down To Earth brings you the top environmental cases heard in the Supreme Court, the high courts and the National Green Tribunal

DTE Staff

Illegal extraction of groundwater by water mafia in Delhi

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) May 13, 2025 directed a joint committee to look into the matter of illegal extraction of groundwater in Manakpura, Delhi by the water supply mafia. The committee has been directed to visit the spot, verify the factual position, suggest appropriate remedial action and submit its report. 

The tribunal also directed the authorities to file their reply on the matter. The authorities included the principal secretary, Department of Environment, Government of NCT of Delhi; Central Ground Water Authority; Delhi Jal Board among others.

According to the complainant, one Hemant has illegally drilled a borewell in his premises and is extracting groundwater at a brisk pace and in huge quantities for the last 7-8 months. He is estimated to be extracting more than 500,000 litres of groundwater daily and supplying to nearby localities.

He is allegedly supplying the illegally extracted groundwater to the commercial establishments on a very large scale. He has also established an illegal water purification plant on his premises, the application noted. The concerned person has connections with the Delhi Police and Delhi Jal Board (DJB), thus no action has been initiated either, the complianant alleged.

The applicant also filed photographs and videos of the matter.

Joint committee to investigate illegal stone crusher in Sirmaur

The matter of a stone crusher operating illegally in Mehli village, Sirmaur district in Himachal Pradesh was taken up by NGT, May 13, 2025.

NGT sought response from the the District Magistrate, Sirmaur; Himachal Pradesh Pollution Control Board (HPPCB); Department of Industries, Himachal Pradesh and project proponent Maa Vaishno Stone Crusher located at Gram Panchayat Salani Katola, village Mehli.

The tribunal also directed a joint committee to look into the matter. The Joint Committee is directed to visit the spot after giving notice to the project proponent, look into the grievances after joining the applicant and representative of the proponent, verify the factual position, suggest appropriate remedial action and submit its report within six weeks. The Himachal Pradesh Pollution Control Board would be the nodal agency for coordination and compliance.

An application was received by NGT filed by Hemant Kumar on behalf of all the villagers of Salani Katola Gram Panchayat in Nahan tehsil of Sirmaur.

The stone crusher is violating environmental regulations. Due to crushers, about 250 bighas of land which were irrigated through kuhls (surface channels) is on the verge of becoming barren due to the lowering of the water level.

Many complaints have been registered in the local district administration and mining department regarding the activities of stone crusher, but the department has not taken any action in the matter so far.

Felling of trees for cold storage project in Dehradun

The state pollution control boards / pollution control committees are the concerned authorities to grant consent under the Water Act, 1974 and Air Act, 1981 in their respective jurisdiction of state / Union territory and to guarantee adherence to consent conditions and established environmental norms.

This was stated by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in its reply to NGT May 9, 2025. The matter related to a cold storage project initiated at Mandi Samiti, Vikasnagar, Uttarakhand. The project was illegal because necessary permissions were not obtained like for felling trees, according to the applicant.

Regarding the cutting or felling of trees, the CPCB stated that if the trees are located on forest land, any violations concerning these trees should be addressed by the appropriate agency according to the Indian Forest Act, 1927.

The felling and pruning of trees do not fall under the purview of the Uttar Pradesh Protection of Trees Act, 1976, which has been adapted in Uttarakhand vide Uttaranchal Adaptation and Modification Order, 2002.

Letters dated March 28, 2025 seeking factual report in the matter had been sent to Uttarakhand Forest Department, Deputy Conservator of Forest (Kalsi, Dehradun), Uttarakhand Environment Protection and Pollution Control Board, Uttarakhand Agricultural Produce Marketing Board and Vikasnagar Krishi Mandi, Vikasnagar, Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

The letter from the secretary of the Krishi Utpadan Mandi Samiti, Vikasnagar, Dehradun on April 4, 2025 noted that the proposed cold storage is being constructed by the construction division of Uttarakhand Agriculture Production Marketing Board, Rudrapur and the approval for felling of 18 trees, which were obstructing the construction work on the land selected for construction of cold storage, was given by the Chief Horticulture Officer, Dehradun, vide office letter dated November 19, 2024.

The secretary also noted that the evaluation of trees was done by the division forest officer, Kalsi Land Conservation Division, Kalsi, via letter dated November 27, 2024. Approval for cutting / auction of trees was given by the directorate of Uttarakhand Agriculture Produce Marketing Board Rudrapur, Udhamsingh Nagar, December 7, 2024. 

During inspection, the regional officer of Dehradun found 14 live mango trees and observed that 18 mango trees were cut down out of total 32 mango trees. The approval for the same was granted by the Chief Horticulture Officer, Dehradun.