Bhubaneswar, Oct 8 (UDN): The East Zone Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed a total cost of Rs 2 lakh on the Odisha Chief Secretary and seven other government officials for repeated non-appearance in a case concerning alleged illegal and excess sand mining in Angul district.
The tribunal has directed each of the eight respondents to pay Rs 25,000, observing that the absence of representation had led to repeated adjournments and delayed proceedings in the environmental matter.
Case Concerns Sand Mining in Brahmani River
The case relates to allegations of mining beyond the permitted lease area and excess extraction at the Nizgarhzami Sand Quarry, locally referred to as the Gopinathpur sand quarry, located in the Brahmani river under Talcher tehsil.
The matter has raised concerns over compliance with permitted mining limits and the potential environmental impact of excess sand extraction.
Eight Officials Asked to Deposit Costs
Those named among the respondents include the Odisha Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary of the Water Resources Department, Deputy Director of Mines of the Talcher Circle, Regional Transport Officer of Angul, Tehsildars of Talcher and Parajang, Superintendent of Police (Angul) and the Inspector-in-Charge of Talcher police station.
The tribunal reportedly observed that lawyers representing the respondents had repeatedly failed to appear, resulting in unnecessary adjournments. It termed the repeated absence deliberate and imposed the costs as an exemplary measure.
One-Month Time to File Responses
The NGT has provided the officials another opportunity to submit their respective responses within one month. They have also been directed to deposit the imposed costs with the Tribunal Registrar in Kolkata within the same period.
The Angul Collector was not subjected to the cost, as the concerned Tehsildar appeared before the tribunal on the Collector’s behalf through videoconferencing.
The tribunal also noted that the state government and some departments had not been appearing regularly or filing their responses despite notices being issued.
The matter has been posted for the next hearing on December 4, when the tribunal is expected to consider further proceedings in the case.