Cuttack: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has admitted an appeal challenging the grant of environmental clearance (EC) for a sand mining project in Mayurbhanj district. The clearance was issued by the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), Odisha in favour of a private lessee for the Budhabalanga river sand bed, spread over 12.35 acres near Belpal under Badasahi tehsil.The appeal was filed by Bibekananda Pattnaik (60), a resident of Baripada, under provisions of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010, seeking quashing of the clearance which was given this year on Feb 23.Taking cognizance of the issues raised by the appellant, the east zone bench passed the order on April 1, the web copy of which was uploaded on Monday.In his appeal, Pattnaik has alleged multiple procedural lapses in the grant of the clearance. He claimed that the clearance was issued and subsequently transferred without a mandatory site inspection. He further contended that his objections were not considered during the appraisal process.The appellant’s counsels, Sankar Prasad Pani and Ashutosh Padhy, made submissions through video conference. Taking note of the submissions and examining the records, the NGT bench, comprising judicial member Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member Ishwar Singh, observed that the appeal raises arguable issues and deserves consideration. “In view of the grounds mentioned in the appeal and in the absence of any valid ground/reason for dismissal of the appeal at this stage, it is admitted for hearing,” the bench stated in its April 1 order, which was uploaded on Monday.Accordingly, the tribunal issued notices to the chief secretary, Mayurbhanj collector and district magistrate, Badasahi tehsildar, deputy director of mines (Baripada circle), SEIAA and the Odisha State Pollution Control Board, directing them to file replies within a month. A notice was also issued to the private lessee.The matter has been posted for further hearing on May 13.According to the petition, the original clearance was granted on Jan 31, 2022, in favour of the Badasahi tehsildar at a time when no valid district survey report (DSR) existed. The clearance was transferred to the private lessee in Feb this year without a valid DSR, which is mandatory for issuing the clearance.The plea also questioned the validity of the clearance on the ground that no proper DSR was in place. It alleged absence of a cumulative environmental impact assessment and failure to evaluate the carrying capacity of the site.The appellant further argued that the project lacked a fresh mining plan and replenishment study, which are essential for sustainable sand mining operations.
