The Tribunal emphasized that illegal mining operations must comply with environmental regulations and outlined measures for compliance and penalties for violations.

ORDER

1. Issue raised in this application is ill egal mining going on in the area of village Kasai, Tehsil Lakhnadon District Seoni (M.P.) on following grounds :

“The respondent no. 7 and 8 are continuously flouting and violating the settled principle of law by carrying out mining over the area where no such minerals are left available and the excavation of the minerals to its capacity has already been done over the years in the past and under the garb of that mining lease of Khasra no.295 the respondent no.7 and 8 are excavating the minerals from the nearby Khasra’s situated at village Kasai, Tehsil Lakhnadon, District - Seoni, Madhya Pradesh. Secondly, the respondent no.7 to 10 are carrying out illegal mining and boundless crushing activities over the agricultural land bearing Khasra No. 312/2/1/1/1 admeasuring 3.53 hectares and various other Khasra’s wherein 12-15 metres of deep excavation has been done by the respondent no.07 to 10 and have also vanished the entire seasonal drain of the area in question. Moreover, illegal mining activities is being carried out over an area wherein neither the mining lease has been obtained by the respondents, nor the consent to establish and consent to operate has been obtained from the concerned department by the respondent no.7 to 10. The indiscriminate and boundless crushing activities and blasting is going on at such a level that the excavation of minerals is going on beyond the permissible capacity resulting in huge irreparable loss to environment and the ecology of that area.”

2. The matter was taken up by this Tribunal and a committee was constituted with direction to submit the factual and action taken report. In compliance thereof, the members of the committee visited the site and submitted the report which is as follows :-

A. “Site view description: - The Google Earth photograph shows the locations of the mining lease areas and stone crushing units. It is clear from the image that the residential area is situated more than 500 meters away from the boundaries of the mines and stone-crushing units. Village Kasai is situated more than 1000 meters away from mines and stone crushers. NH 44 is situated more than 150 meters from the boundary of mines and stone crushers. Additionally, there are no eco-sensitive areas near the mines or stone crusher units. Thus, the distance shown in the Google Earth photograph complies with the Siting criteria set by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Furthermore, it is submitted that both the stone crushers are located within the respective Mining Lease Areas.

B. Specific issues raised in the petition and factual observation: - Specific issues raised in the petition and factual observations recorded during the inspection are tabulated below: -