The Haryana government has defended the environmental clearance granted to a sand mining project in the Yamuna belt of Karnal before the National Green Tribunal (NGT), contending that the plea challenging it is time-barred and that the approval followed due process with stringent environmental safeguards.
In its reply before the principal bench of the NGT, the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) sought dismissal of the appeal challenging the environmental clearance granted to a private transport company for a 94.35-hectare sand mining project at Chandraon Garhpur Tapu block in Karnal.
According to the affidavit filed by SEIAA member secretary Virender Kumar Dahiya, the proposal covering Chandraon, Garhpur Tapu and Kalsora villages was examined by the state expert appraisal committee (SEAC) in December 2023 before the SEIAA granted environmental clearance in May 2024. The project has an approved production capacity of 41 lakh tonnes of sand annually, with mining permitted up to a depth of three metres.
The affidavit states that although the total lease area is 94.35 hectares, mining has been permitted only in 66.19 hectares. Another 12.23 hectares fall under a restricted safety zone, while 15.93 hectares have been earmarked for ancillary activities where no mining will take place.
The project includes an environmental management plan with a capital outlay of ₹28.5 lakh and recurring annual expenditure of ₹14 lakh, besides ₹45 lakh earmarked under the corporate environmental responsibility.
{{/usCountry}}The project includes an environmental management plan with a capital outlay of ₹28.5 lakh and recurring annual expenditure of ₹14 lakh, besides ₹45 lakh earmarked under the corporate environmental responsibility.
{{/usCountry}}The state said the clearance incorporates safeguards such as high-pressure sprinklers and anti-smog guns for dust suppression, 10-metre-wide haul roads, a traffic management plan and restriction of mining to the central three-fourths width of the river channel. Mining has also been prohibited within 500 metres of the active Yamuna embankment, while the project proponent has been directed to develop 33 hectares of community green belt and plant 33,900 trees, the reply stated.