Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of Dedharota Grampanchayat Vs Member Secretary, SLEIAA, Gujarat & Others dated 11/06/2021. An application was filed against the grant of Environmental Clearance (EC) by the SEIAA, Gujarat in March 15, 20217 for a bauxite mine in village Dedhrota, tehsil Himmatnagar, district Sabarkantha, Gujarat.

The application stated that the land in question is on the bank of Sabarmati river and nearby is the hill of Bauxite. Mining would affect the hill and flood water would wash away the gaucher (grazing) land and the standing crops. The inhabitants of the village objected to the grant of EC during the public hearing and also filed writ petitions in the Gujarat High Court which were disposed of.

During pendency of the Appeal, the appellant filed an appeal to withdraw the case on the ground that vide order (June 18, 2020) the nature of the land has changed and the Panchayat under the new sarpanch has decided to withdraw the appeal on the ground that the land in question is longer a grazing land.

The bench comprising Justices Adarsh Kumar Goel, Sudhir Agarwal, M. Sathyanarayan and Brijesh Sethi was of the opinion that even though the nature of the land may have undergone change, mitigation measures during the mining as per EC conditions and mining and environment plans needs to be ensured by the Department of Mining, Gujarat, the Gujarat Pollution Control Board and District Magistrate, Sabarkantha. The District Magistrate would be the nodal agency for compliance and coordination.