The NGT has sought responses from officials, including the district magistrates of North Delhi and Ghaziabad, on alleged instances of illegal sand mining in the Yamuna river floodplain.
A bench of NGT chairman Justice Prakash Srivastava and expert member A Senthil Well took suo moto cognizance of a newspaper report on large-scale illegal mining in the flood plains between Alipore in north Delhi and Panchaira in Ghaziabad.
The District Magistrates of North Delhi and Ghaziabad and the Lucknow Regional Office of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change were named as respondents in the case.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has also held member secretaries of Delhi Pollution Control Committee, Central Pollution Control Board and Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board guilty.
“Issue notice to the above respondents to file their response/reply,” it said.
News reports indicated to the NGT that sand miners in the area were building temporary roads across the river, enabling them to transport excavators and operate mines in the floodplain.
The article further states that these roads were mostly constructed with wooden planks and sandbags along the river banks, are not authorized under any mining lease, and have caused great damage to the river’s fragile ecosystem.
In its December 16 order, the NGT noted that the river bank had been “looted by the sand mafia” and was susceptible to encroachment on a large scale.
“This indicates a violation of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act. The news item raises important issues related to compliance with environmental norms,” it said.
The case was posted for hearing on April 14, 2025.
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