Daily Court Digest: Major environment orders (October 1, 2024)

Down To Earth brings you the top environmental cases heard in the Supreme Court, the high courts and the National Green Tribunal
Daily Court Digest: Major environment orders (September 20, 2024)
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Rehabilitate people removed around Baliapanda dumpyard: NGT

People who would be removed from the site of the dumping yard at Baliapanda, Puri, Odisha should be rehabilitated, said the National Green Tribunal (NGT) September 27, 2024.

NGT said that “horrendous consequences would arise if there is a major fire in the dumping yard” and could lead to serious loss of lives. Thus, it is the duty of the state to rehabilitate all persons who would be left without shelter if they are removed from the site.

The court directed the chief secretary, Odisha to seriously look into the matter before any accident / disaster occurs at the site and people lose their lives, and to provide for rehabilitation of the persons living in the vicinity of the dumping yard in question. The chief secretary, government of Odisha, should file a fresh affidavit within four weeks, showing what action has been taken in this regard, said the bench of Justice B Amit Sthalekar.

The next hearing of the case has been listed for December 19, 2024.

The affidavit filed by the Puri Municipality May 8, 2024 stated that the detailed plan and estimate have been prepared by the municipal engineer for construction of boundary wall around the dumping yard at Baliapanda and the project cost would be around Rs 99 lakh.

The work order was issued and the project was expected to be completed within six months. However, it was delayed due to the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct in Odisha during the elections. The court noted that the elections concluded by June 4, 2024 and therefore, there should be no further obstacles to constructing the boundary wall around the dumping yard at Baliapanda.

It was also stated that there are about 3,000 households who have been residing in the vicinity of the dumping yard by encroaching upon government land and in the survey which has been carried out of the colonies in 2021, 1,619 households were recorded.

The report by the chief secretary of Odisha September 26, 2024 stated that the construction of the boundary wall has been delayed due to opposition from encroachers around the plant.

EC without district survey report for Lalacherra sand mining null & void: NGT

NGT September 27, 2024 said that the environmental clearance of June 17, 2023 granted by the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), Assam for Lalacherra sand mining is null and void in the absence of a district survey report.

The court directed SEIAA, Assam to file a fresh affidavit showing what action has been taken. The court directed that all the affidavits should be filed within four weeks.

According to a report by the Assam Pollution Control Board on July 11, 2024, the Lalacherra sand mining contract area is situated 826 meters downstream from the paved bridge linking Chuta Nunai village across the Lalacherra stream. The bridge's central pillar began to sink around 2020, prior to the commencement of mining activities in the area.

The report also indicated that the project proponent has stored the extracted sand in three locations, in addition to the leased area, for loading onto trucks and subsequent delivery to different destinations.

The NGT expressed surprise at how sand mining was allowed without an approved district survey report. The court also inquired about the measures taken by the district commissioner of Hailakandi, Assam, in this matter.

The affidavit of the Assam Pollution Control Board said that environmental clearance was granted by SEIAA, Assam to contractor Purnam Deb on June 17, 2023, where there was no district survey report in existence on that date.

SEIAA, Assam stated that mining has been stopped after the order of the court. To this, the bench of justice B Amit Sthalekar said that merely stopping the work is not enough.

Waterbody encroachment in Rabindranagar, West Bengal

The NGT, eastern bench, September 27, 2024 directed a two-member committee to look into the allegations of a waterbody encroachment in Panchur Mondal Para, Rabindranagar, district South 24 Parganas, West Bengal.

The committee would comprise of senior scientist, West Bengal Pollution Control Board, and district magistrate, Rabindranagar, South 24 Parganas. The committee has been asked to carry out an inspection of the site in question and submit a fact-finding report on affidavit with regard to the allegations made.

The matter related to encroachment of a waterbody in Panchur Mondal Para. It was stated in the application that there was no alternative source of water in the applicant's village other than this waterbody, the existence of which was extremely crucial for the ecosystem of the village of the surrounding area. It was said that the waterbody was being illegally filled up.

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