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Significant time has lapsed since any reply has been filed on behalf of state of Punjab on illegal mining damaging a bridge on River Swan in Rupnagar district of Punjab, said the National Green Tribunal (NGT), August 4, 2026.
The counsel for the chief secretary of Punjab submitted that the details regarding the interpretation and analysis of satellite imagery for mining activities along Algran bridge are awaited from the Punjab Engineering College.
NGT expressed its displeasure at the absence of any reply / response after January 2026 from the state to show any attempt was made to get the requisite information.
The bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava noted that the state and its authorities are not serious about taking action and responding to the issue. The tribunal granted four weeks to file further progress report and the matter has been listed for next hearing for October 14, 2026.
The application was registered suo-motu on the basis of the news item titled From Ropar to Hoshiarpur via HP: 30-km detour as illegal mining damages bridge appearing in The Indian Express, April 10, 2024. The matter concerns the closure of a bridge on the Swan river, connecting Nangal with Garhshankar due to indiscriminate sand mining, forcing residents of at least 200 villages in Ropar, Rupnagar district, Punjab, to take a 30 km detour.
The article published in April 2024 stated that three months had passed since the bridge was closed, leaving people living in these villages and Nangal town in Ropar no choice but to cross over to Himachal Pradesh and pay an entry fee, and travel an extra 30 km to reach Garhshankar in Hoshiarpur district.
Earlier findings by experts from the Punjab Engineering College reflected large-scale illegal mining which has even raised concerns about the bridge's stability due to the current riverbed level being significantly lower than the bridge's original design level.
The NGT directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on August 5, 2026, to submit an affidavit on the quantity of waste accumulated at the Singhola site.
The court order followed an MCD report dated April 20, 2026 disclosing the status of action taken in Narela-Bawana and Singhola. Shailendra Kumar Nayak, junior engineer, MCD, pointed out that no untreated waste is lying at the Narela-Bawana site; only RDF has accumulated there. The report revealed that out of 34,313 MT of RDF, 9,654.50 MT has been disposed of till March 2026.
With respect to the Singhola site, the report by MCD stated that owing to the urgency of pre-monsoon desilting operation, MCD had to resume deposition of silt at Singhola site in July 2025. Nayak submitted that for setting up the processing facility at Singhola site, the work has already been awarded and the process will start from November 2026.
However, NGT pointed out that the waste / refuse derived fuel accumulated at the Singhola site was not disclosed in the report.
Association of Fly Ash Products Manufacturers (AFAPM) and the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change was directed by NGT August 5, 2026 to examine whether the Ash Utilization Notification dated December 31, 2021 has been subsequently amended and to place any such amendment notification on record.
AFAPM had filed an application questioning the provisions of the notification. It stated that a terminology correction is required in the 2021 notification and it should be amended to reflect "fly ash, bottom ash, and pond ash", aligning with the original notification, September 14, 1999.
The applicant sought clarification on whether ash generated by coal / lignite-based thermal power plants should be utilised primarily for manufacturing fly ash-based products such as bricks, blocks, and tiles, before considering other uses. Fly ash should be supplied free of cost or at concessional rates to manufacturing units, as per the 1999 notification.
Construction agencies within a 300 km radius of TPPs must use only BIS-compliant fly ash products, the application added. This requirement should include private, public, and government agencies and must be enforced through tender documents and specifications, the application stated.
