Stone crushing units prohibited within 5 km of reserve forest per guidelines; illegal operation despite flawed NOCs mandates closure, official accountability via proceedings, and environmental compensation recovery.

ORDER

1. The allegation of the Applicant in the present Original Application is that the Respondent No.13, M/s Balaji Minerals, is carrying on illegal operation of Stone Crushing Unit near Siku River Bridge under Mebo Circle, District-East Siang, without necessary permissions from the Government authorities and in violation of the environmental guidelines.

2. It is stated that No Objection Certificate (‘NOC’ for short) was granted on 14.02.2023 by the Divisional Forest Officer, Pasighat Forest Division, Pasighat, but the same was subsequently cancelled on 06.11.2023 by the same officer. It is also stated that the Consent to Establish/Consent to Operate order has been granted by the Arunachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board vide certificate dated 25.06.2021.

3. The allegation further is that the said Stone Crusher Unit of Respondent No.13 is located 300 meters from the National Highway and 400 meters from the Siku Notko Resort whereas as per environmental guidelines it should be installed at a distance of at least one kilometer from the National Highway and half a kilometer from human habitation.

4. It is also alleged that as of today, there is no Forest Clearance from the Forest Division. The pollution control measures i.e. dust containment-cum-suppression system for the equipment, construction of wind breaking walls, regular cleaning and wetting of the ground within the premises and greenbelt along the periphery, have not been installed by the Respondent No.13.

5. It is also stated that the Applicant has submitted representation before the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mebo, East Siang District, as well as the District Forest Officer (T), Pasighat Forest Division, and the Assistant Mineral Development Officer, Pasighat, on 31.10.20223 (page 28 of the paper book), but no order has been passed till date.

6. The Arunachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board, Respondent No.1, has filed affidavit dated 18.03.2024 and it is stated that the NOC has been issued by the Assistant Mineral Development Officer (ADMO), Department of Geology & Mining, East Siang District, vide letter dated 23.06.2021 (page 101 of paper book) as the Respondent No.13 Stone Crushing Unit is at a distance of about 300 meters from the National Highway/State road. Along with the affidavit, photographs have also been filed showing the premises of the Respondent No.13, Project Proponent, which confirms stone crushing activity of the Respondent No.13.

7. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Respondent No.4, in its affidavit of 09.04.2024 has stated that stone crushing units should operate only after obtaining Consent to Establish (CTE) and Consent to Operate (CTO) from the concerned State Pollution Control Boards/Pollution Control Committees. It is also stated that the stone crushing units fall under Schedule-I of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986, and are categorized under ‘Orange’ category vide Central Pollution Control Board order dated 07.03.2016 with a Pollution Index Score of 41 to 59 in a Pollution Index Range from 0 to 100.

8. The Deputy Conservator of Forests (Conservation), Department of Environment, Government of Arunachal Pradesh, has filed affidavit dated 15.07.2024 on behalf of the Respondent No.2, stating therein that the NOC dated 14.02.2023 of the Stone Crusher Unit of Respondent No.13 was issued by the Divisional Forest Officer, Pasighat, as per the application of the Respondent No.13 on the strength of physical verifica