The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has again restrained the Punjab Government from permitting mining operations in the state under the garb of desilting and dredging by passing interim directions.
Mining is normally done in the state on the pretext of desilting and dredging.
The NGT Bench comprising Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastva and expert member Dr Afroz Ahmad passed the judgement. The order was uploaded on Monday.
Earlier, the NGT had imposed a ban on mining in the state following a petition by the Gahlri village panchayat in Gurdaspur district. That was, however, challenged by the state government following which the petitioners again moved the NGT.
The petitioners claimed the state government was making repeated attempts to indulge in commercial sand mining without the mandatory environmental impact assessment (EIA).
The NGT has ordered the state government will not “permit any further dredging/desilting operations for commercial purposes without district survey report (DSR), replenishment study and compliance of EIA notification”.
A replenishment study is a scientific assessment that calculates how much of a natural resource, like river sand, is naturally replaced over a period of time. A DSR is a document that maps out mineral resources, environmentally sensitive areas and suitable mining zones within a specific region.
