NGT Launches Probe into Illegal Sand Mining in Dhenkanal
CUTTACK: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has mandated an investigation into alleged illegal sand mining at a quarry located along the Brahmani River in Dhenkanal district. This directive arose during a Friday hearing regarding a petition from a Talcher-based NGO, alleging that 11.80 acres of sand was being mined illegally at Gunadei village under Odapada tehsil, in violation of various environmental regulations. The petitioners’ legal representatives, Sankar Prasad Pani and Ashutosh Padhy (participating virtually), asserted the project was breaching the Sustainable Sand Mining Management Guidelines, 2016, established by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. The NGT’s east…