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NGT orders probe into large-scale illegal mining across four Madhya Pradesh rivers.
NGT seeks report on Mumbai project inside Sanjay Gandhi Park ESZ.
Narsapur Municipality ordered to stop dumping in Vasista River, ensure proper waste management.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) September 4, 2025 directed the constitution of a four member joint committee to look into the allegations of large scale illegal mining by Dhanlaxmi Merchandise Pvt Ltd (DMPL) in rivers Umrar, Mahanadi, Halali and Belkund.
The committee is to comprise the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB); Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), Madhya Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board.
NGT ordered the committee to visit the site and submit a factual and action taken report within six weeks.
The matter related to mining operation by DMPL in rivers Umrar, Mahanadi, Halali and Belkund, including unleased areas without environmental clearance and concerned conditions in violation of environmental rules (within the area of Narsinghpur, Raisen, Hoshangabad and Katni districts of Madhya Pradesh).
It was further contended that though mining leases were granted for specific areas and quantities, the miner has blatantly violated all safeguards. Extraction is being carried out well beyond permissible limits using heavy machinery directly in riverbeds, obstructing natural flows, eroding banks and degrading aquatic habitats. Unauthorised haul roads and bunds have been constructed, and operations continue during monsoon despite prohibitions.
Alarmed villagers and whistleblowers have repeatedly complained, but without redressal. DMPL operates in multiple sites without valid lease or environmental clearance.
Entire stretches of rivers, including Umrar, Mahanadi, Halfal and Belkund, are exploited without mandatory consent to operate, without replenishment or impact studies and without ecological buffers. Conditions regarding restoration, afforestation and pollution control remain unfulfilled.
The application by Khushi Bagga said that the consequences are severe: Groundwater recharge systems have collapsed, aquifers and traditional harvesting structures destroyed and sedimentation patterns disrupted.
Moreover, farmlands are vulnerable to erosion, crops have been damaged and carrying capacity of rivers has been reduced, heightening flood risk, the application noted.
The western bench of NGT September 3, 2025 called for a report from the Chief Conservator of Forest, Thane Forest Division on the redevelopment project of ‘Bimbisar Nagar Premises CSL’ at Bimbisar Nagar, Goregaon (E), Mumbai, Maharashtra.
The tribunal wanted to know whether any prior permission was required to be issued for the project and whether the scrutiny was required to be done by the Monitoring Committee of Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) of Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP).
The application was filed calling for an interim injunction to be issued against Bhavya Parsha Realty LLP and Bimbisar Nagar Premises Co-Operative Society Ltd, prohibiting further construction and progress of the redevelopment project of Bimbisar Nagar Premises CSL. It was alleged that the site is located within the ESZ of SGNP, as notified by MoEFCC.
The southern bench of NGT directed Andhra Pradesh's Narsapur Municipality September 3, 2025 to stop all dumping of solid waste on the riverbank of River Vasista or coastal regulation zone (CRZ) areas. Narsapur Municipality should establish facilities for segregation, transportation and processing of the 35 TPD of waste generated, strictly in accordance with Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules, 2016, within three months.
Until such facilities are established, all municipal waste should be transported to authorised waste-to-energy or other approved processing facilities.
Within a three-month period, Narsapur Municipality is required to set up leachate collection and treatment systems, along with implementing dust suppression measures, fire prevention systems and greenbelt development.
Compliance status has to be reported to the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB).
The matter related to illegal dumping of garbage by Narsapur Municipality into River Vasista and along its flood bank for several years, in violation of both CRZ Notification and the SWM Rules, 2016.
The joint committee in its May 7 report said that the Narsapur Municipality generates about 35 tonnes of waste per day (TPD), of which only 4.2 TPD was being sent to the waste-to-energy plant; nearly 30.8 TPD was dumped at the Vasista riverbank. Over 50,000 tonnes of legacy waste remained.
Further, water samples from the Vasista river and nearby borewells showed alarming levels of total dissolved solids, chlorides, heavy metals and biological oxygen demand, making the water unfit for drinking and bathing. PM10 and PM2.5 levels exceeded NAAQS limits. Frequent fires at the dumpsite caused additional hazards.
The joint committee also noted: “the dumpsite falls within CRZ-IB and CRZ-IVB zones, where such dumping is expressly prohibited. The Municipality has acted in breach of the CRZ Notification, warranting strict action”.
APPCB reported August 26, 2025 the status of compliance of Narsapur municipality with respect to the recommendations of the the joint committee. The board confirmed August 19, 2025 during its inspection that Narsapur Municipality stopped dumping waste on the existing dump site. Garbage has been shifted to 0.37 acres of municipal land situated opposite to the existing old dump site.
Dry waste from Narsapur Municipality is transported twice a week to Jindal waste-to-energy plant in Guntur. As of August 19, 2025, about 128 tonnes have been disposed of.
“The Municipality has not developed infrastructure for proper waste collection, segregation, transportation, and processing of 35 TPD, nor has it taken measures for leachate collection and treatment,” noted the report by APPCB.
The reports clearly established that indiscriminate dumping of waste on the riverbank has taken place, as confirmed by inspection findings. The subsequent claim of partial compliance by the municipality does not absolve it of past and continuing violations, NGT said.
Further, the municipality has failed to develop the requisite infrastructure for processing the 35 TPD of waste generated and has also not implemented systems for leachate management, air pollution control, or fire safety said the court.
“Tribunal observes with concern that the Municipality, which is expected to act as a role model in implementing scientific waste management practices, has itself resorted to dumping waste on the banks of the river. Such conduct not only defeats the very object of the SWM Rules but also sets a wrong precedent before the public,” said the bench of Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana.