ECs for minor mineral mining granted by DEIAA are void ab initio without SEIAA re-appraisal per Supreme Court/NGT directives; illegal mining mandates CPCB-based environmental compensation and strict enforcement.

ORDER

1. Issues raised in this application are :-

i. that land for mining is being sold in a private capacity by sand mafia for a certain amount and approximately 100 trucks are being transported from this place to other places and are sold for financial gain, causing loss to the environment, loss to the State exchequer and in this way mining of more than 240 crores annually is being done damaging the forest area.

ii. that the old Neel Kanteshwar Temple is situated near the explosion site and the walls are cracking due to high explosions. The mining area is being sold from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 04 lakh for illegal mining by sand mafias with security guarantee and that despite repeated direction issued by the Hon’ble the Supreme Court of India and this Tribunal, the District Administration of Vidisha has failed to control the illegal mining in District Vidisha, Ganjbasauda, Tehsil in the Villages Udaipur, Pathari, Ghatera, Pathari, Noorpur, situated 120 km from the State Capital Bhopal. It is reported that there are various illegal mining activities in the forest area and more than 500 illegal mining are being done within the area of 5 km by use of heavy machines by sand mafias.

2. The matter was taken up by this Tribunal on 25.09.2023 and a committee was constituted to submit the report with regard to the following points :-

i. Number of minings sanctioned by the authorities with consent conditions and EC as required.

ii. Number of illegal minings with details of violators involved in the process of illegal mining.

iii. Mining excavated by illegal mining mafia, the value.

iv. Status of DPR and the replenishment study of area.

v. Loss of the forest area and plantation.

vi. Environmental compensation against each violator in accordance with the parameter laid down by the CPCB and this Tribunal.

vii. Number of transport vehicle seized or action taken by the state authorities.

3. The committee visited the site and submitted following illegalities :-

i. The illegal mining is being continued for last five years through use of tractor, trolleys, trucks, poclain, JCB Machines, Motorcycle, blasting equipments, compressors, diesel engines and other instruments. More than 13 mines were operating without any valid environmental clearance within the forest area.

ii. The forest area under question is very vast and not properly accessible except two sites located along the road side. Approximately seven illegal mining pits were found near the road side in the forest land.

iii. Low intensity blasting is generally preferred by the violators.

iv. Instead of control of illegal mining, cutting of the trees and protection of the forest area the Divisional Forest Officer, Forest Department District Vidisha has recommended and suggested for de-notifying the forest land, which is against the policy of the forest and against the departmental rules. It is surprising that the DFO is recommending for deforestation of already notified area when the responsibility to protect the forest land is with DFO concerned.

4. Vide order dated 11.03.2024 Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and Principal Secretary, Mining was directed to take action and submit the report. In compliance thereof, the Divisional Forest Officer filed the reply with the facts that :-

i. That barriers have been erected at Ghatera and Udaipur, with forest personnel deployed for continuous 24x7 surveillance and furthermore forest guards engage in day and night patrols within the forest range to thwart illegal mining activities, augmented by monitoring through drone cameras.

ii. That over the past five years (January 2019 to September 2023), the forest staff, in the course of range patrolling, have taken