New Delhi, June 2 The National Green Tribunal has sought the response of the Gujarat government on a plea alleging granting the lease for sand and stone mining without preparing the District Survey Report (DSR).
Petitioner Rahul Choudhary argued that the state Department of Industry and Mining has issued notices inviting tenders for undertaking mining of sand and minor minerals without fulfilling prior legal requirements of preparation of the DSR.
"Mining without the DSR is not only killing the rivers but is threat to villages on the bank," he said.
Issuance of these notices without preparation of the DSR is in violation of the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006 as amended in 2016 and 2018, sustainable Sand Mining Management Guidelines, 2016, and Enforcement and Monitoring Guidelines for Sand Mining, 2020, he argued.
Considering the matter, Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh, in a recent order, said: "Based on the above position of law it, prima facie it appears correct that without preparation of DSR, auction notices cannot be issued for mining and therefore a substantial question impacting the environment has been made out in this application. Therefore, we direct the registry to admit the application."
The NGT also asked the respondents to file affidavits within 15 days' time and directed to submit their reply within six weeks. The matter will be heard further on July 15.
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