Not so green: How NGT-mandated panels favour polluters in Jharkhand

Various petitions have been filed before the National Green Tribunal (NGT),for the last three years against illegal mining and pollution by stone crusher units in the Rajmahal Hills in Jharkhand. 

The petitioners claimed that the companies indulged in indiscriminate mining and operating stone crushers in the hills of Sahebganj district have flouted environmental norms. 

The table below highlights the cases in NGT about the stone crushers. 

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

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NGT Cases	Application number
Syed Arshad Nasar versus Union of India and others.	23/2017
Ramchandra Chaurasia versus the State of Jharkhand	776/2018
Pradeep Kumar Singh versus the State of Jharkhand	373/2019

Taking cognisance of the three petitions mentioned in the table below, NGT has formed joint committees to submit their findings thrice. Still, the issue remains unresolved due to these committees’ submission of inadequate information.

joint committee, 2019

The first joint committee, formed in 2019 by the NGT, comprised senior scientists from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) regional office in Jharkhand, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and experts from the state environment impact assessment authority and Jharkhand state pollution control board (JSPCB).

The green tribunal asked for a detailed report on the capacity assessment of the areas, including — stone mines and stone crushers, ambient air quality assessment, pollution control devices required for stone mining and stone crushing units and the cost of restoration of such damage.

The member secretary, JSPCB, appeared before the tribunal September 11, 2019. But they were unable to answer about the detailed inventorisation of stone crushing units and mines.

Even the environmental compensation assessed by the state board was found to be inaccurate. The violation had been taking place for three years, but while calculating the compensation board considered only 30 days.

“The reports submitted by the regulatory authorities are not satisfactory and lack clear information and the state PCB is incompetent in performing its duties of taking stringent action against flouting laws,” the tribunal said.

The chief secretary of JSPCB should look into this matter and take strict action against the member secretary. Such important offices should be headed by technically sound persons with the ability of effective environmental governance, it further added.

joint committee, 2020

The tribunal had constituted another joint committee after witnessing the degraded condition of the environment and the failure of the state regulatory authority.

The committee included joint secretary of the MoEF&CC, members of the Indian Institute of Technology Dhanbad, a senior officer of CPCB, secretary for environment, Jharkhand government and a scientist from MoEF&CC as its members.

The committee relied upon the ambient air quality data during the lockdown, 2020. It concluded that the annual average concentration of PM10 was within the national standard and PM2.5 was noted as 42 milligrams per cubic metre (mg/Nm3), below the national standard of 60 mg/Nm3.

The non-compliance factor (NCF) in the formula was found to be grossly incorrect, as the units with the most severe non-compliance were liable to pay the least environmental compensation.

The tribunal again found the recommendations unacceptable. The report by the joint committee was rejected once again and the state board was directed to close the illegally operating stone mines and crushers. The NGT formed another joint committee in 2021.

joint committee, 2021

The new committee is constituted of the district magistrate, Sahebganj, Scientist, CPCB, member secretary, JSPCB, or his representative. Here are the findings of the report:

• Ambient Air Quality was tested at seven different locations, out of which, five sites exceeded the permissible limits of both PM10 and PM2.5. It can also be depicted that none of the locations met the PM10 standards. Only at two out of seven locations are PM2.5 standards met.

   

S.No.	Location	PM10	PM2.5	Remarks
		Limit (100 mg/Nm3)	(Limit 60 mg/Nm3)
1	Jokmari, Mahadeoganj	135.70	91.75	Both the parameters exceed the limit
2	Mahadeobaran, Mirzachowki	217	55	PM10 does not meet the permissible limit
3	Sahibganj Railway Siding	137.75	95.80	Both the parameter exceeds the limit
4	Mirzachowki Village	120.90	70.25	Both the parameters exceed the limit
5	Talbanna, Sahibganj	1133	50	PM10 does not meet the permissible limit
6	Ratanpur, Barharwa Town	112.80	65.75	Both the parameter exceeds the limit
7	Hathigarha, Sakrigali	148.75	99.80	Both the parameter exceeds the limit

•  A huge volume of dust was generated in the area and the majority of the stone crushers were running without an emission control system, as reported in the monitoring status report submitted by the district mining task force between December 11, 2020 and February 16, 2021.

   

• The stone crusher units don’t have a display board specifying details like name, the unit’s capacity, validity of consent to operate (CTO), name of the proprietor and period of operation.

   

• Many operators did not show the legal document during the site inspection to the joint committee members.

   

• JSPCB has issued a valid CTO for only 192 stone crushers, 118 stone mines and 20 stone crushers with mines. The list provided by the District Mining Office enlists that 161 crushers have been demolished since 2017, but many of them were in operation. 

   

Huge question mark on the intent of JSPCB

It is really sad that the JSPCB, a statutory organisation to implement environmental laws, is unable to understand the seriousness of the problem and has allowed the illegal running of stone crushers and mining.

The green tribunal had to intervene repeatedly and the member secretary of Jharkhand was unable to answer about the inventorisation of stone crushers and stone mining.

The board is good at granting consent, but weak at ensuring their proper implementation. It is evident from the grievances against the same.

The state board should undertake its role seriously, do environmental governance effectively and take stringent actions to enforce the laws.

A few days back, a case of illegal stone mining was reported in Mahoba, Uttar Pradesh and now again, there is another news from Jharkhand about the same. This clearly shows that the pollution control boards are reluctant towards the mighty issues of stone crushers and the pollutions associated with them.

Pollution India