Telangana has shut illegal stone crusher units, fined them; but much more needs to be done

The Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB) has cracked the whip on illegal stone crusher units operating in Vattinagulapally, Kokapet, Gouldoddi, Gopanpally, Kollur, Kotwalguda and Osmannagar villages in Rangareddy and Sangareddy district of Telangana.

The board ordered the closure of 12 stone crushers and imposed an environmental compensation of Rs 5.46 crore on them in November, this year. The amount will be used for the restitution of the environment in accordance with Section 15 of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) Act, 2010.

The action was a result of an application filed before the NGT January 17, 2022.

Considering the seriousness of the issue, the NGT constituted an expert committee to inspect the units located within 10 kilometres from Himayatsagar and Osmansagar lakes.

Also read: This Pune stone-crusher unit shows how to do it properly

The tribunal then asked TSPCB to take stringent action against the crusher units operating without ‘Consent for Establishment’ and ‘Consent for Operation’ from the state board.

The NGT asked the crushers to stop violating the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act and the fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

The tribunal’s southern zone bench in Chennai had directed the TSPCB to file the status report of the action taken by the board by November 15.

The following were the findings of the inspection:

• Three stone crusher units were operating with valid Consent to Operate and adhering to the environmental norms.
• Some 13 units were inactive and were dismantled.
• The revenue officials seized 13 stone crushers that violated environmental norms. 

TSPCB had ordered the closure of Adeshwar Aggregates Pvt Ltd, a stone crusher, for flouting environmental norms. The authority has also ordered the disconnection of power supply.

The unit was operating without obtaining ‘Consent for Establishment’ and ‘Consent for Operation’ from the state board.

Also read: Mahoba mess continues: NGT seeks report on stone mining

The unit continued to operate with diesel generators without installing air pollution control devices, violating the order. The board rejected the company’s application for Consent for the Establishment as it operated despite TSPCB’s closure order.

It tampered with the lock and seal put on the diesel generator set and jaw crushing machines, which is an illegal act. The unit had flouted the environmental norms and had many shortfalls.

Some of them are are listed below:

• Lack of dust containment-cum-suppression system.
• Absence of a water sprinkling system to control the dust emission from jaw crusher, cone crusher and conveyors.
• Lack of regular cleaning of roads and wetting of the ground within the premises.
• Lack of green belt along the periphery of the crusher in accordance with the state guidelines

Later on, the unit filed an appeal before the TSPCB for obtaining Consent to Establishment and Consent to Operate. But the board rejected it owing to the unit’s non-adherence to environmental norms.

The NGT remitted the matter to TSPCB for fresh consideration of merits for ‘Consent to Establishment’ and ‘Consent to Operate’ and permitted the unit to operate.

But later on, TSPCB filed an appeal before the NGT against the same. Finally, the NGT issued an order August 29, 2022. It upheld TPCB’s order and stated that such units should not be allowed to operate.

Way forward

Repeatedly, NGT has to intervene in cases related to illegal stone-crushing units and pollution caused by such units in almost every state in the country.

Generally, the tribunal constitutes committees and asks for a detailed report to understand the root cause of the pollution. This entire process takes a long time.

It is unclear how these illegal stone crushers run and the state board, being a statutory organisation to implement environmental laws and rules within the jurisdiction, misses at times to see such a huge problem.

The state boards usually have a shortage of workforce and cannot visit the field regularly. Considering the seriousness of the issue, the board should not allow crushers to establish beyond the specified crushing zones.

Stringent action should be taken against illegal units for flouting environmental norms.

The sector will always be in demand considering the country’s growth in the construction sector. The operational practices of the sector need to be strengthened and the guidelines released by the state board should be strictly implemented.

An effective mechanism needs to be developed to see to it that the state guidelines for the stone crushers are well implemented on the ground.

Subscribe to Daily Newsletter :

SUPPORT US

We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.