Rs 4 cr will be recovered from illegal quarry operators, govt tells NGT

PANJIM: The State government has informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) Principal Bench that an amount of Rs four crore towards environmental compensation would be recovered from the land owners or illegal quarry operators for undertaking unauthorised laterite stone quarrying in the orchard land in Ibrampur-Tuvem village in Pernem Taluka.   

While accepting the submission, the NGT has also asked the government to work out compensation to be paid to the four student victims, who had died due to drowning in the laterite quarry in Tuvem village in Pernem Taluka in September, last year. 

During the recent hearing held via a video conferencing, in the application filed by Goa Paryavaran Savrakshan Sangharsh Samitee, with regards to illegal quarrying of stone, basalt, rubber stones in Pernem Taluka and other parts of the State, the State government submitted a  progress report on the action initiated by the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) by way of prohibitory and coercive measures including prosecution and recovery of compensation for damage to the environment due to illegal mining of minor minerals. 

Based on the report submitted by the three-members committee, the GSPCB informed that approximate area of the quarry is about 17,000 sq mts and the average dept about six metres, with this the total material- slag, fly ash, compost and tree and garden cutting, required for restoration would work out to 1,02,000 cubic metres. 

 “The Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) has already made request seeking land for composting the tree waste. Therefore, the CCP and other municipalities could be directed to dispose their tree waste after multching in the mining pits along with the slag, fly ash and inert upto one mtrs from the top of the quarry and the remaining height by compost,” GSPCB informed the green bench.

“Approximately 10,000 trucks would be required to restore the quarries and the cost of transportation is approximately Rs three crore. There would be additional expenditure for deployment of staff for monitoring, machinery for levelling, plantation etc. which would work out to Rs one crore,” GSPCB said. 

“The total environmental compensation would work out to Rs 4 crore which have to be recovered proportionally from the owners of the land. The violators/quarry operators may be directed to deposit an amount of Rs 4 crore initially which could be proportional to their land holding. If not deposited by the violator the same could be recovered as arrears of Land Revenue,” the Board said.