New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India has upheld a National Green Tribunal (NGT) order that barred a private company, NKC Projects Pvt Ltd, from carrying out riverbed mining in the Shali Ganga stream in Budgam district, Kashmir. The apex court also dismissed appeals filed by the company, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), and the Jammu & Kashmir government.
The case dates back to 2022 when environmental activist Dr. Raja Muzaffar Bhat petitioned the NGT, objecting to the use of heavy machinery for extracting boulders and riverbed material from the stream in Panzan. The NGT initially stayed the operations and later, in September 2022, passed a full-fledged judgment prohibiting the mining activity. NKC Projects Pvt Ltd subsequently challenged the order in the Supreme Court, which was dismissed on Friday.
A bench of Justice P.S. Narasihma and Justice Atul S. Chandurkar criticised the Jammu & Kashmir State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (JKSEIAA) and the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) for failing to follow established guidelines while granting environmental clearance. The court said the EAC committed a “serious error” by proceeding with the District Survey Report (DSR) despite acknowledging it was not prepared in line with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change’s 2016 and 2020 sand mining guidelines, particularly in the absence of replenishment data.
The judgment observed: “It is unfortunate that J&K EIAA compromised with regulatory integrity by granting the environment clearances (EC) on the basis of a DSR without a replenishment report… This is how regulatory failure occurs.”
The court also noted that the recommendation to allow restricted mining depth and production limits in view of missing replenishment data was “unacceptable.”
Reacting to the verdict, Dr. Bhat welcomed the ruling and expressed hope it would bring greater accountability among environmental bodies. “I am grateful to my counsel Senior Advocate Anita Shenoy, Advocate-on-Record Srishti Agnothri, and other lawyers for pleading my case in the Supreme Court. I will also file a separate case against JKEIAA and JKEAC for committing blunders while granting clearances for riverbed mining,” he said.
The judgment is being seen as a significant precedent in regulating riverbed mining and ensuring stricter compliance with environmental safeguards in Jammu & Kashmir.
