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The National Green Tribunal (NGT), September 12, 2024, directed authorities to file their responses to allegations of large-scale forest land being diverted for mining in Karnataka.
The tribunal instructed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the department of mines and geology of the Karnataka government, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change’s regional office in Bangalore and the District Magistrate of Ballari to submit their replies. The matter was scheduled for the next hearing before the southern zonal bench in Chennai on November 5, 2024.
The case was initiated suo motu based on a news article published in the newspaper Deccan Herald on August 21, 2024. Over the last 14 years, four districts in Karnataka, including the undivided Ballari district, have lost 4,228.81 acres of forest due to mining activities, according to the article.
Ballari alone accounted for 80 per cent of this loss, with 3,338.13 acres affected. Between 2010 and March 2024, 60 mining projects were approved in these districts, with Ballari leading with 39 projects. Additionally, during this period, mining leases for at least 5,000 acres of forest were extended or renewed, the news article stated.
Following a Supreme Court order, the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) found that 8.9 square kilometres (sq km) or 2,199.24 acres of forest were destroyed between 2000 and 2011 due to mining activities, affecting a total of 43.4 sq km (10,724 acres) of land, the article highlighted. In 2013, the Supreme Court had noted that species like the Egyptian vulture, yellow-throated bulbul, white-backed vulture and four-horned antelope had vanished due to forest depletion from mining, prompting the implementation of stricter norms.
Furthermore, legalised mining has caused twice as much forest destruction as illegal mining, significantly impacting wildlife and local communities in Sandur, the article alleged. It also reported a four-fold increase in asthma cases due to mining-related air pollution and estimated an annual agricultural income loss of Rs 200 crore.
The case indicated violations of the Environment Protection Act, 1986; the Forest Conservation Act, 1980; and the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, the NGT noted.
The NGT, September 12, 2024, directed the CPCB and the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) to respond to allegations of pollution caused by Ankur Udyog Ltd, an integrated steel plant. The plant, which produces 300,000 tonnes of steel annually and has a 30 megawatts power plant, is located in the Gorakhpur Industrial Development Authority area.
Ankur Udyog was also ordered to submit its response to the complaint raised by Sudhir Kumar Jha, a resident living near the industry. The complaint, raised on behalf of 12 villages near the industry, alleged that black ash and smoke from the plant's chimneys were causing severe air pollution and health hazards for local residents.
Counsel for the applicant referred to complaints made to various authorities and highlighted a communication dated July 29, 2024 from the CPCB to the member secretary of the UPPCB, urging them to address the grievances raised.
The NGT, September 12, 2024, directed the chief secretary of Telangana to file a fresh action taken report on the status of solid and liquid waste management in the state. The matter has been scheduled for March 6, 2025, when the court will review the report.
The half-yearly progress report for October 2023 to March 2024 was submitted by Telangana government.
Upon reviewing the report, the court observed that there had been no substantial progress in closing the gap in the treatment, utilisation and disposal of solid and liquid waste. According to the report, there is a 2,281 tonnes per day gap in waste processing across 141 Urban Local Bodies, resulting in daily additions to legacy waste.