Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of Prem Singh Yadav Vs Union of India & Others dated 05/04/2019 regarding illegal sand mining by M/s. Dijiyani Mining Corporation Pvt. Ltd., M/s. Silvrr Mist Retail Pvt. Ltd., Vikas Parmani, Rupesh Kumar Chauhan and RSI Stone World Pvt. Ltd. in Districts Jalaun, Hamirpur, Banda and Jhansi in the State of Uttar Pradesh in violation of Environmental Clearance (EC) conditions. The applicant states that the mining has to be permitted only during day time. It has to be open cast and manual. It cannot be within 3 meters or 10 % of width of the bank of the river and it has to be in conformity with the plan. It should not disturb the water flow. Adequate safeguards are required to be taken. Transportation should be properly recorded and safeguarded. But these conditions are being violated. Also grant of EC itself is illegal and in violation of law laid down by the Supreme Court and the Tribunal.

The SC says that EC has to be subject to strict regulatory framework at par with the regulation of major minerals. But the Notification dated 15.01.2016 issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) dispensed with the necessity of obtaining EC for area below 5 ha and EIA and EMP were exempted for the area ranging from 5 ha to 25 ha.

The National Green Tribunal says that the policy is mine-centric rather than striving a balance between mining and environment, as required under the law and directs the State of Uttar Pradesh to take steps in the matter within one month and and till an appropriate order is passed, the EC may not be acted upon.