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The National Green Tribunal (NGT), on July 9, 2025, directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to submit its response to allegations that the Karnataka forest department granted two mining leases in Tumakuru, despite having previously rejected them on environmental grounds.
The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change’s (MoEF&CC) regional office in Bengaluru, along with the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, was also directed to respond. The case is scheduled for its next hearing before the NGT’s southern bench on September 25, 2025.
The application was registered suo motu based on a news article titled Activist questions forest dept’s U-turn over mining in Karnataka’s Tumakuru, published in the newspaper Deccan Herald on July 10, 2025.
On May 14, 2025, the forest department recommended approval of a project by Mineral Enterprises Private Limited, covering 119.1 acres across the villages of Gollahalli, Hosahalli and Kodihalli in Chikkanayakanahalli taluk, the article stated. It highlighted that the deputy conservator of forests, Tumakuru, had earlier raised concerns about the area being prone to “accelerated” soil erosion and noted the presence of wildlife including leopards, sloth bears, wild pigs and peafowl.
In a letter to the additional chief secretary of the forest department, conservationist Giridhar Kulkarni urged that the proposal be rejected. He pointed out that two earlier proposals adjacent to the same area were dropped after site inspections by the MoEF&CC’s regional office in Bengaluru, which had recommended against them.
The NGT has scheduled the next hearing on the regime governing removal of flood deposits from agricultural fields, short-term permits and related matters for September 8, 2025. On July 9, 2025, the Tribunal granted the MoEF&CC’s request for an adjournment to enable states and Union Territories to submit their responses.
The applications pertain to the issue of permitting commercial mining activity for private agricultural landowners during the post-monsoon period, under the pretext of removing sand deposited in fields during the monsoon.
The MoEF&CC stated that to better understand current practices, wider consultation with all states/UTs was necessary, as initial discussions had only involved five states, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand.
Accordingly, a questionnaire based on the issues flagged by the NGT was circulated to all State Pollution Control Boards (SPCB), State Environment Impact Assessment Authorities (SEIAA) and Departments of Mines and Geology (DMG) across all states/UTs for their comments.
An online meeting was held on June 11, 2025, in which members of the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) for the non-coal mining sector, officials from various SEIAAs, State Expert Appraisal Committees, SPCBs, DMGs and the MoEF&CC participated in detailed discussions.
The matter was further deliberated in the 46th meeting of the EAC (Non-Coal Mining) held on June 25-26, 2025, taking into account responses received up to that date. The EAC concluded that the issue required further discussion at its 47th meeting, scheduled for July 2025, by which time additional responses to the draft record of the June 11 discussions were expected.
On July 11, 2025, the NGT ordered Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam to pay an environmental compensation of Rs 21.53 crore for “complete non-performance in discharging its statutory duties” by failing to prevent the discharge of untreated sewage across the Nagar Palika Parishad, Loni, in Ghaziabad district.
The Tribunal noted that out of a total sewage generation of 108 million litres per day (MLD), only 30 MLD was being treated, while the rest was discharged untreated, severely polluting the Hindon river.
Nagar Palika Parishad, Loni was also directed to pay Rs 2.25 crore in environmental compensation. The authorities were instructed to complete the construction and covering of the drainage system in Pooja Colony within one year and file a compliance report.
A treatment facility for the full 108 MLD sewage capacity must be made operational in Loni within a year and the existing 30 MLD sewage treatment plant (STP) must be upgraded, the NGT directed. The connecting sewer lines are to be laid and integrated with the STPs.
Until the requisite STP capacity and sewer infrastructure are in place, Nagar Palika Parishad, Loni, must continue to implement temporary measures for cleaning the affected areas and ensure the legal discharge of effluent, the order said.
The NGT stated that compensation recovered from violators shall be used for environmental remediation, rejuvenation and restoration in line with an Environment Rejuvenation Plan to be prepared by a Joint Committee comprising representatives from the UP Pollution Control Board, District Magistrate of Ghaziabad, CPCB and MoEF&CC.
The directive followed a petition by residents of Ansal East End, Trans Delhi Signature City, Loni, who alleged that Nagar Palika Parishad was illegally discharging sewage and dumping hazardous waste in the area’s green belt. The petition named Executive Officer Shalini Gupta as the responsible authority.
A joint committee report dated November 21, 2022, confirmed that sewage from Pooja Colony was being discharged due to the absence of a drainage system. Municipal garbage dumping was also observed in the green belt and the area had long-standing issues with waterlogging.