RAM BABU GOUR v. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH, National Green Tribunal, Judgment, Law, casemine.com

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Case Number

IA No. 21/2022 / BHOPAL

Judges

Mr. Justice Sheo Kumar Singh
Dr. Arun Kumar Verma

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RAM BABU GOUR v. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

Item No. 3

BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL

CENTRAL ZONE BENCH, BHOPAL

(Through Video Conferencing) Original Application No. 10/2022(CZ) (I.A.No.13/2022) (I.A.No.21/2022) (I.A.No.22/2022)

Ram Babu Gour Applicant(s) Versus

State of Madhya Pradesh & Ors. Respondent(s) Date of hearing: 04.03.2022

CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SHEO KUMAR SINGH, JUDICIAL MEMBER HON'BLE DR. ARUN KUMAR VERMA, EXPERT MEMBER

For Applicant(s) : Mr. Pinaki Mishra, Sr.Adv. Ms. Sadaurna Mukherjee, Adv.

Mr. Mayank Pandey, Adv.

For Respondent(s) : Mr. Sachin K. Verma, Adv. Ms. Parul Bhadoria, Adv.

Dr. Sapna Aggarwal, Adv.

ORDER

1. The matter of illegal mining or mining without the authority or violation of environmental norms or violation of Sustainable Sand Mining Management Guidelines, 2016 & The Enforcement and Monitoring Guidelines for Sand Mining, 2020 has been raised in this application. This Tribunal had constituted a Joint Committee and directed to submit factual and action taken report. The Joint Committee headed by the Addl. Secretary, Govt. of M.P., Mineral Resources Department, Bhopal visited the site and submitted the factual status as follows :

"The factual status :

i. Madhya Pradesh State Mining Corporation Ltd. has issued e-tender no. 277 on 5.10.2019 for the sand mines in year 2019 for 43 districts. Raisen district was also one of them and its 56 sand mines were included in e-tender for 1400000 m3 sand quantity.

ii. ii. The 56 sand mines (Copy of the 56 mines is enclosed as Annexure-III were awarded to successful bidder Sh Rajendra Raghuvanshi, Bhopal vide letter dated 19.2.2020 for period upto 30.6.2023. The copy of the same is enclosed as Annexure-IV. The bidder has operated only 11 mines after obtaining Environmental Clearance & Consent to Operate from MP-SEIAA & MPPCB respectively.

iii. The District Survey Report, 2016 was valid during the allotment period. Copy of the DSR, 2016 is enclosed as Annexure-VI.

iv. The successful bidder failed to deposit installment of February 2021; after due opportunity of hearing to the bidder; the bid was cancelled on 5.4.2021 by the Director, Geology and Mining, M.P. The bidder later appealed to the Mineral Resource Department of State Government with agreement to deposit the installment amount with interest against the cancellation order dated 5.4.2021. Further, vide order dated 6.7.2021; State government rejected the appeal of the bidder.

v. The bidder, further approached Hon'ble High Court, Jabalpur vides W.P. 12606/2021. Hon'ble High Court vide order dated 2.9.2021 directed as:

"it is directed that if the petitioner deposits 50% of the amount of the demand notice issued on 26th of August, 2021, on or before 13th of September, 2021, the respondents shall not issue any fresh N.I.T. with regard to the contract in question."

Further, vide order dated 14.9.2021 Hon'ble High Court extended the time to deposit the amount by 24.9.2021. Vide order dated 27.9.2021, Hon'ble court stated as:

"……permitted to grant time to the petitioner upto 1st October, 2021 as last indulgence to deposit the aforementioned amount, failing which the writ petition shall stand dismissed without reference to the Court and the respondent/State would be free to go ahead with the process of issuing fresh NIT."

vi. As the petitioner haven't deposited the amount in compliance of the Hon'ble High Court order dated 27.9.2021; the petition was stand dismissed and District Collector, Raisen has issued e-tender no. 1100 on 26.11.2021 for 02 groups of the total 56 sand mines on prevailing Sand Rules, 2019 and DSR, 2016 for the remaining period upto 30.6.2023 as per the previous Notice Inviting e-Tender. The sand mines of the District have been auctioned in two groups as per Notice Inviting e-Tender i.e. group-1 and group-2.

The bid for group - 1 of 36 sand mines of Bareli & Udaypura tehsil was awarded to successful bidder M/s Euphoria Mines & Minerals for sand quantity of

7,19,045M³.

The bid for group - 2 of 20 sand mines of Bari, Devari & Raisen was awarded to successful bidder M/s Pushpa Enterprises for sand quantity of 6,80,955M³. On deposition of the 50% of the bid amount, The District Collector issued letter on 21.1.2022 and 8.02.2022 to M/s Euphoria Mines & minerals and M/s Pushpa Enterprises respectively.

M/s Euphoria Mines 8& Minerals has submitted mine plan for 34 mines to mine corporation and is in process of obtaining environmental clearance from SEIAA. Similarly, M/s Pushpa Enterprises has submitted mine plans for all the 20 sand mines and is in process of obtaining environmental clearance from SEIAA.

vi. It is to mention here that NEITHER the agreement NOR the possession of mines provided to successful bidders so far. And none of the mine is operational currently.

vii. Due to the procedural delay in cancellation of the successful bidder of 1st NIT i.e. Sh Rajendra Raghuvanshi due to failure in depositing the installment in time and ongoing proceeding at Hon'ble High Court; they issuance of the revised NIT on valid DSR 2016 was slightly delayed.

viii. Further, Mining Department identified a consulting agency M/s In-Situ W Enviro Service, Bhopal on 7.10.2021 for preparing the DSR for next 5 years as per the prevailing guidelines of Sustainable Sand Mining, 2016 and notification year 2016 & 2018. Copy of the order issued to agency is enclosed as Annexure-X. The agency submitted DSR to Director, Mining & Geology, Bhopal on 22.11.2021. Further, after inputs of the Mining Department, the DSR

forwarded to MP-SEIAA on 15.2.2022 for approval. Presently, the DSR is under consideration at MPSEIAA.

ix. The field visit conducted on 26/02/2022 by the Joint Committee to verify the status of the randomly selected mine area in Tehsil Bareli revealed that none of the mining was operational. No machines, dumpers, tractors, manpower, labour camps etc were found at the site and nearby area. Also NO demarcation poles, display boards were observed at the sites.

Action taken:

i. The DSR, 2021 submitted to MP-SEIAA on 15.2.2022 for approval.

ii. Instruction issued to mining officer for installation of permanent boundary pillars as per the Sustainable Sand Mining Guideline , 2016.

Recommendations

i. The Department of Mining District Administration to ensure that NO mining activity by the successful bidders took place at these 56 mines without the Environmental Clearance & Consent to Operate. And shall be as per the Sustainable Sand Mining Guideline 2016 and Enforcement & Monitoring of Sand Mining Guideline,202O.

ii. The Department of Mining District Administration re-visits the draft DSR, 2O2l and ensures its preparation as per the defined formats under notification, 2016 & 2O18 with exhaustive field visit. The Mines should be operated after approval of the DSR from SEIAA.

iii. MP-SEIAA shall grant the EC after verification on field in EC transfer case to ascertain the availability of minable mineral quantity."

2. During the course of hearing both the Learned Counsel expressed their concurrence with the recommendations submitted by the Joint Committee and the observation of this Tribunal passed in Appeal

No. 25/2021(CZ) to 72/2021(CZ), the guidelines issued by Hon'ble Supreme Court in Civil Appeal no.3661 of 2020 in State of Bihar vs. Pawan Kumar which has been discussed and directed to be executed by the authorities in the previous orders of this Tribunal.

3 . Accordingly, we direct that the recommendations of the committee, observations and directions issued in the 51 connected appeals referred above and directions of Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in Pawan Kumar's case must be strictly observed and executed. I.A. No. 21/2022 is disposed of accordingly. 4. I.A. No. 22/2022 is an application for impleadment as a respondent. Since no objection has been filed. Thus the application for impleadment is allowed. The applicant is directed to implead the applicant of I.A. No. 22/2022 and provide the copy to the newly added respondents who in turn may file the reply within three weeks. List it on 12^th April, 2022. Sheo Kumar Singh, JM Arun Kumar Verma, EM 4^thMarch, 2022 O.A. No. 10/2022(CZ) K

RAM BABU GOUR v. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

RAM BABU GOUR v. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

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