NGT orders lessee to pay Rs 25 lakh for illegal mining in Odisha
A tribunal constituted joint committee had confirmed that the private lessee had violated environmental norms by carrying out excess and unauthorised sand extraction from the river and calculated an environmental compensation of Rs 25.41 lakh to be imposed on the lessee.
The bench comprising Judicial Member Justice B Amit Sthalekar and Expert Member Dr Arun Kumar Verma directed the district collector to file an action-taken report regarding the recovery of this compensation.
The bench was hearing a petition filed by the late Jhadeswar Pradhan (60), a resident of Tendra. The petition alleged rampant mechanical sand mining beyond permissible limits and illegal transportation through villages using overloaded heavy vehicles, damaging private and agricultural land. Advocates Sankar Prasad Pani and Ashutosh Padhy appeared on behalf of the petitioner.
Earlier, on April 4, the tribunal had constituted the joint committee to inspect the site and assess the validity of the claims. The committee's report confirmed that the lessee had indeed engaged in mining beyond the approved lease area, disturbing the natural flow pattern of the river.
The report stated that out of 20,616 cubic metres of sand extracted during the 2024-25 financial year, about 5,339.78 cubic metres were illegally mined from outside the lease area.
The matter has been listed for the next hearing on August 22, 2025.
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