Pollution norms flouted, mining firm told to shut ops in Yamuna

Tribune News Service

Mukesh Tandon

Panipat, March 18

The Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) has issued an order to shut the operations of a company carrying out mining in the Yamuna in the Gannaur area of Sonepat district for violating norms under the water and air Acts.

The mining company, M/S Ultimate Group, was operating without valid consent to operate (CTO) from the HSPCB for the past five months. The HSPCB has also written to the district mining officer for the compliance of the closure orders issued by its chairman.

P Raghavendra Rao, chairman, HSPCB, said SDO Ravinder Yadav had visited the site in the Gyaspur-Rasulpur sand unit, where the M/s Ultimate Group was running its mining operations on November 23 last year. The SDO found several violations of the pollution norms by the mining company.

As per sources, the company has not submitted the required CTO fee under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act-1974 and Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act-1981 along with performance security or the sampling fee, the latest analysis reports of groundwater and ambient air monitoring, CA certificate and the environment statement for the preceding year.

After finding the violations, the Regional Officer (RO), HSPCB, Sonepat, Virender Poonia, served a show-cause notice on the unit on January 16 and sent it via a registered post. But the unit didn’t reply to the notice. After which, Poonia recommended the closure of the company.

On the RO’s recommendations, the HSPCB chairman ordered the closure of the operations of the sand mining unit at Gyaspur-Rasulpur village by sealing its plant, machinery and DG sets. He also issued directions to stop the electricity supply with immediate effect on Friday.

Poonia said the unit’s operations had been shutdown after the closure order was received. The mining officer had been told to ensure its compliance and that no activity was carried out by the unit till the suspension of the order, he added. District Mining Officer, Sonepat, Anil Kumar said the operations had been stopped at the site after the closure order issued by the HSPCB chairman.