NGT wants illegal mining victims' kin paid Rs 20 lakh

SNS, SILIGURI, 2 APRIL 2023 : The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered paying compensation of Rs 20 lakh to each family of the three persons who had died during illegal mining, and Rs 5 lakh to the injured.

Three persons, including two minors, were buried alive when a chunk of earth fell on them while they cut sand from the top with shovels on the Balasan riverbanks at Matigara on 6 March, Another child, Alaish Sahani, had sustained minor injuries.

The state government has given a cheque of Rs 2 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 25,000 to the family members of the injured child on 8 March.

The tribunal has ordered that the payment must be made within one month and action must be taken against the violator under environmental laws simultaneously at the earliest.

The principal bench of the NGT; comprising Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel (Chairperson), Justice Sudhir Agarwal (Judicial Member), and Dr A Senthil Vel (Expert Member), said, "No steps have been taken for recovery of compensation from the violator asper environmental law nor compensation paid to the victims is as per any reasonable basis. Even criminal case against the violator is not for theft of mined material nor for violation of environmental norms. Thus, the State cannot avoid responsibility for compensating the victims in view of negligence of its authorities in enforcing the rights of the victims by using its regulatory authority in controlling illegal hazardous activities."

The proceedings were initiated suo motu.

Notice was issued to the West Bengal Pollution Control Board, mining officer, Siliguri Zone, West Bengal, district magistrate, of Darjeeling and police.

In response to the notice, a statement of facts was filed as received from the district magistrate, it is learnt.

A resident of Sitamari, Bihar, Rohit Kumar, 16 who had come to his maternal grandfather's house, two locals of Tripali Jote, Santa' Sahani, 16, and Monu Kumar, 20, lost their lives and Akash Sahani was injured.

The NGT found that it is clear from the statement of facts that they had been involved in illegaI mining activities and also noted that the state had failed to enforce the applicable regulatory regime for this hazardous activity an d no steps had been taken to recover compensation from the violator under environmental law, and the compensation paid to the victims was not reasonable.

The NGT further noted that in the present case, the death of the children is patently due to violation of established norms. "The state authorities failed to enforce the law and prevent the incident. Apart from illegal engagement of children, the mining in the river bank is not shown by any Authority of Law, such as, mining lease, replenishment study, DSR and environment clearance. No safeguards have been used in the process. Thus, the state cannot escape liability for violation of environmental norms."