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Fake e-Ravana permits not under our jurisdiction: Pollution board in illegal mining case
The board’s regional officer Virender Punia made the submission in its reply filed before the NGT on August 12 in a case concerning illegal mining operations at the Dhanaura mining block in Yamunanagar district
The Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) has distanced itself from allegations of fake e-Ravana permits being used to facilitate illegal mining for boulders, gravel and sand in Bilaspur block, telling the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that verification of the permits and any alleged misuse of the e-Ravana portal falls exclusively within the jurisdiction of the state’s mines and geology department.
The board’s regional officer Virender Punia made the submission in its reply filed before the NGT on August 12 in a case concerning illegal mining operations at the Dhanaura mining block in Yamunanagar district. The reply comes after the NGT recorded that the applicant had been allegedly mining without a valid consent to operate (CTO) during part of the period from September 2024 to September 2025 and without a valid replenishment study.
Acting over a complaint the NGT proceedings had taken note of allegations that 4095 e-Ravana bills involving 1,63,800 metric tonnes (MT) of minerals were generated between May 5 and May 16, 2023, despite there being no actual extraction or transportation. The applicant had also alleged the issuance of e-Ravana bills for another 5,70,932 MT between May 28, 2025 and September 29, 2025. Another allegation was that no replenishment study had been conducted after the 2023 report, yet mining was carried out during 2025-26 without a valid replenishment study. The applicant had also claimed to have submitted representations to the state authorities in June 2025 and March 2026 without action being taken.
In its response, however, the pollution control board did not verify or refute the allegations. Instead, it categorically stated that determining whether the e-Ravana bills were genuine and examining any misuse of the portal was the responsibility of the mines and geology department. “Accordingly, the said allegations do not fall within the jurisdiction of the respondent board,” the HSPCB said in its reply.
The board also clarified the status of the Dhanaura mining block mentioning that the mining contract awarded to a private firm remained suspended from June 22, 2023, to February 18, 2025, after which the suspension was revoked by the director general, mines and geology.
The company subsequently applied for consent to operate and obtained the HSPCB’s CTO on March 27, 2025, valid until September 30 last year.
Meanwhile, over the issue of replenishment studies, the board said the mining unit remained non-operational during 2024 because its contract was under suspension. It therefore said no replenishment study was required or conducted that year and the board relied on a 2025 replenishment study conducted by the mines and geology department.The reply comes after the NGT recorded that the applicant had alleged mining without a valid CTO during part of the period from September 2024 to September 2025 and mining without a valid replenishment study.
The reply comes after the NGT recorded that the applicant had been allegedly mining without a valid consent to operate (CTO) during part of the period from September 2024 to September 2025 and without a valid replenishment study.
The tribunal had observed that the allegations raised substantial environmental questions and sought responses from the concerned authorities.
The HSPCB’s reply, however, left the key question of the alleged large-scale misuse of e-Ravana permits with the mines and geology department, while asserting that its own regulatory jurisdiction was limited to environmental consent.
