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There are major mining pits about 1.26 kilometres away from the boundary of Hadagarh Wildlife Sanctuary in Keonjhar district in Odisha, according to a joint enquiry report filed by the office of the collector and district magistrate.
The mining pits are about 0.76 km away from the boundary of the proposed eco-sensitive zone and 1.18 km away from the proposed tiger corridor in the area, the report added.
The report was in response to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order dated September 6, 2022.
The committee recommended that till final notification of the eco-sensitive zone by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, no mining activities shall be permitted in the said area.
The tehsildar of Anandapur shall ensure that there isn’t any illegal mining activity in the locality by isolating the site.
The forest department needs to take up soil and moisture conservation work as a remedial measure for rejuvenating the area by recharging the groundwater, the report also recommended.
The Supreme Court of India passed an order December 13, 2022 allowing the Goa government to carry out dump mining activities. The state was asked to follow guidelines mentioned in the Expert Committee’s report submitted on April 12, 2015.
The order was in response to an application filed by the state seeking permission to carry out dump mining as recommended by the report.
The order was passed by the bench of justices BR Gavai and Vikram Nath.
In December 2021, the Goa government issued a policy for the removal of waste in mining dumps in the state. These included minerals that are below the threshold value of ore, as defined by the Indian Bureau of Mines.
The SC granted three months time to the central government to complete the process of constituting the Pennaiyar Water Disputes Tribunal to resolve the dispute between the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
The Union of India had sought six months to constitute the tribunal and said that a “proposal for information of Pennaiyar Water Dispute Tribunal” has to be approved by the concerned minister and after that, a cabinet note has to be prepared.
The cabinet note will seek approval for the constitution of the tribunal and also for the creation of posts (chairman and assessors), the Centre had added.
The cabinet note, after approval, would be circulated to the Union ministries of home affairs, law and justice, finance and the Prime Minister’s office for their comments and observations. These would also be incorporated in the note. Thereafter, “legal vetting is to be done by the Union Ministry of Law and Justice” and a gazette notification will be issued, the Centre mentioned.