The operation of a railway siding without proper pollution controls is a violation of environmental regulations, necessitating compliance with the Air Act and adequate infrastructure to mitigate environmental impact.

Item No. 02 BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL CENTRAL ZONE BENCH, BHOPAL (Through Video Conferencing)

Original Application No.08/2025(CZ)

IN THE MATTER OF :

Lalchand Agrawal R/o 851 Nr. Railway Crossing, Silyari Kurud, Raipur, Chhattisgarh Applicant(s)

Versus

1 Union of India Through Secretary Ministry of Railways, Rail Bhavan, 1 Raisina Road, New Delhi, Delhi Respondent No. 01

2 State of Chhattisgarh Through the Chief Secretary, Government of Chhattisgarh, General Administration Department, Chhattisgarh Secretariat, Naya Raipur, Chhattisgarh Respondent No. 02

3 Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board, Raipur, (C.G.)

Through the Member Secretary, (Head Office) Paryavas Bhavan, North Block Sector-19, Atal Nagar Dist- Raipur(C.G.) Respondent No. 03

4 Office of Collector Collectorate, Kutchery Chowk, Raipur, Chhattisgarh Respondent No. 04

5 Sub Divisional Officer (Revenue) Siliyari, District Raipur, Chhattisgarh Respondent No. 05

6 Raipur Railway Division, Through Divisional Railway Manager, South East Central Railways, NH 200, Shrinagar, Raipur, Chhattisgarh Respondent No. 06

7 Dy. Chief Commercial Manager (FS)

For Principal Chief Commercial Manager, South East Central Railways, New Zonal Building, Bilaspur (C.G.)

Respondent No. 07

8 Silyari Railway Siding Through Chief Station Manager At Silyari Railway Station, Zone- South East Central Railways, Raipur, Chhattisgarh Respondent No. 08 COUNSELS FOR APPLICANT(S): Mohd. Aadil Yar Choudhary, Adv.

COUNSELS FOR RESPONDENT(S):

Mr. Om Shankar Shrivastav, Adv.

Mr. Yadvendra Yadav, Adv.

Mr. Shaurya PS Parihar, Adv.

(with Mr. Siddharth S. Chauhan, Adv.)

Mr. Dharamvir Sharma, Adv.

CORAM : HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE SHEO KUMAR SINGH, JUDICIAL MEMBER HON’BLE DR. A. SENTHIL VEL, EXPERT MEMBER Date of completion of hearing and reserving of order : 25.07.2025 Date of uploading of order on website : 30.07.2025

JUDGMENT

1. This petition has been preferred against the railway siding with the allegations that it is being operated by the railways just to give benefit to the local transport company bypassing all the laws and rules. There is a railway line which is crossing through Silyari which is a Tehsil in the district- Raipur, in the abovementioned village, most of the good trains passes by, carrying different type of goods, fertilizers and other goods and now after the recent order passed by Respondent No.7 also Coal is permitted, there is no railways goods warehouse in the Silyari village, only the goods train has to pass by or halt. The respondent no. 6,7 and 8/Railways are carrying the process of goods siding in the village, the material in the goods train is unloaded on the side of the dirt/raw road/Kachhi sadak and just in front of the private residents, the materials/goods are being loaded/unloaded and thereafter the trucks of the local transport company upload that goods in their trucks creating havoc and traffic jam as there is no space for the trucks to take U-turn, the trucks after loading the goods straightway goes up to 500 meters, and outside the school premises they turn back their vehicle and again the trucks make their way to the location and during this process all the traffic is ceased because of the trucks.

2. The contention of the applicant/petition are that the area Silyari which have school, hospitals and houses of villagers near by the siding are being polluted creating health hazards for the reasons that the railway siding does not have adequate measures, which is required and mandatory to operate as a siding. It is further submitted that the directions issued by the Govt. of India/Ministry of Railways/Railway Board