The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has initiated a stringent inquiry into the reported illegal sand mining activities plaguing the Yamuna river bed, demanding answers from Delhi’s Chief Secretary among other top officials.
The issue came to light following a suo motu case by the NGT, spurred by a concerning newspaper report detailing the rampant illegal mining operations stretching from Alipur in North Delhi to Panchayara in Ghaziabad. According to the report, miners have constructed makeshift roads across the river, facilitating unauthorized extraction activities.
On April 22, a bench comprising Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member Afroz Ahmad highlighted during the session the urgency of addressing these allegations. The North Delhi District Magistrate (DM) testified about the illegal pathways facilitating these operations, noting jurisdictional challenges with the area falling under the purview of the northeast Delhi DM.
In a decisive move, the NGT has impleaded the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) through several key figures: the Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary of the Department of Environment, and the Northeast Delhi DM. The tribunal emphasized the necessity of their involvement to “ensure a just and proper adjudication of the questions involved in the case.”
Notices have been issued to the implicated parties, with the tribunal expecting their detailed responses within the week. The hearing is scheduled to resume on April 30, where the NGT aims to delve deeper into the environmental and administrative lapses that have allowed such exploitation to persist unchecked.
