Taking strong exception to the Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board’s (JSPCB) delay in imposing environmental compensation on alleged illegal sand miners in Shri Banshidhar Nagar in Garhwa, the National Green Tribunal’s eastern zonal bench has directed it to take prompt action and recover the amount.The board must file an action-taken report at least a day before the next hearing on Sept 15. If it fails to do so, the JSPCB member secretary will have to appear before the tribunal in person and explain the non-compliance, the bench said.The direction was issued on July 20 by judicial member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member Ishwar Singh while hearing Original Application 136 of 2024, which the tribunal initiated suo motu.The proceedings arose from a news report published on March 8, 2024, alleging that illegal sand mining was being carried out openly in Shri Banshidhar Nagar while the administration remained inactive.During the proceedings, the tribunal noted that the respondents had filed their replies and counter-affidavits. A counter-affidavit filed by the JSPCB on April 16, 2026, was also taken on record.After examining the pleadings, the bench observed that the authorities had not taken all the remedial measures mandated under the Sustainable Sand Mining Management Guidelines, 2016; the Enforcement and Monitoring Guidelines for Sand Mining, 2020; and directions issued by the Supreme Court and the NGT.The JSPCB told the tribunal that it had issued notices to the alleged violators for imposing environmental compensation. However, the bench found no material on record to show that final orders imposing the compensation had been passed.The board’s counsel said additional show-cause notices had been issued and sought more time to submit a supplementary response.Expressing dissatisfaction, the bench said it had observed in several cases that the state pollution control board issued notices but failed to act on them within a specified period. It said the board often issued another notice shortly before a hearing and then sought an adjournment to submit a further report.The tribunal directed the JSPCB to proceed promptly with the imposition and recovery of environmental compensation from the alleged violators and submit a fresh action-taken report before the next hearing.
