Judgment of the National Green Tribunal regarding dredging/de-silting/removal of the river bed materials from the Subarnarekha river at Sankrail, Howrah, West Bengal, 04/09/2023
Judgment of the National Green Tribunal (Eastern Zone Bench, Kolkata) in the matter of Dipak Mahapatra Vs West Bengal Mineral Development and Trading Corporation Ltd. (WBMDTCL) dated 04/09/2023.
The NGT directed that West Bengal Mineral Development and Trading Corporation Ltd. (WBMDTCL) and Reach Dredging Limited should not carry out any further dredging/de-silting operation which permits commercial utilization of the dredged/de-silted materials by the successful bidder till a District Survey Report (DSR), replenishment study of the sand source in question is carried out. Further, strict compliance of the Sustainable Sand Mining Management Guidelines, 2016 and the Enforcement & Monitoring Guidelines for Sand Mining, 2020 has to be observed and the successful bidder possesses the Environmental Clearance and all other statutory clearances for mining operations for commercial purposes, the NGT said, September 4, 2023.
The applicant in his application before the NGT said that M/s Reach Dredging Limited had been awarded contract for dredging in the river bed of Subarnarekha River but under the garb of dredging, it is also indulging in commercial sand mining activities. It was also alleged that the tender had been floated by the West Bengal Mineral Development and Trading Corporation Limited (WBMDTCL) for dredging/de-silting/removal of the river bed materials from the Subarnarekha river at Sankrail, Howrah district.