India News | SC Sets Aside NGT Order Imposing Rs 3 Crore Fine on Mining Firm

New Delhi, Dec 5 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside an NGT order imposing around Rs 3 crore fine on M/s Govardhan Mines and Minerals as compensation for damages to the environment on account of illegal stone mining activities in the Dadam Hills of Tosham at Bhiwani, Haryana.

Asking the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to deal with the case afresh, a bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and justices Sanjay Kumar and Manmohan took strong note of the green panel's order and said it did not deal with the contentions of the firm and adopted the report of a committee set up to ascertain illegal mining.

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“This order does not deal with the contentions raised by the mining company (M/s Govardhan Mines and Minerals). The arguments of the parties are needed to be dealt with by the first court which is NGT here,” the CJI said.

The bench accepted the submissions of senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for the mining firm, that the NGT did not deal with the contentions of the company and based its findings on the committee's report which was wrong.

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The CJI, however, did not agree with Divan's legal submission of "res judicata".

"Res judicata" is a legal doctrine that prevents a court from re-examining a case that has already been decided by the same court which means a litigant cannot be vexed again and again on decided issues.

Divan argued that the issue of the alleged illegal mining was previously decided by the NGT and the same could not have been re-agitated by the panel in another case.

On August 26, 2022, the NGT issued a detailed order penalising the mining firm for illegal and unscientific mining and also laid out directives for environmental restoration and strict compliance with safety norms.

The tribunal's order followed a series of investigations and reports that allegedly exposed violations, including mining beyond permissible boundaries and non-compliance with the approved mining plans.

A fact-finding committee led by Justice Pritam Pal, a former judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, concluded that illegal mining extended beyond the approved area, including forest zones and beyond permissible depths.

The committee held there were gross violations of environmental clearance conditions and mining plans, including the failure to maintain the required 7.5-meter green belt and safety zones within the leased area.

It had imposed a penalty equivalent to 10 per cent of the value of illegally mined material, replacing the earlier recommendation of Rs 7.5 crores.

The NGT also directed the Haryana government to assess the cost of restoring the damaged Aravalli plantation and recover these costs from the mining firm.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)