Police, mining authorities bound to register FIRs for theft of state-owned minerals, says NGT

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ruled that local police and mining authorities are legally bound to register First Information Reports (FIRs) under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for theft of state-owned minerals, making it clear that payment of penalties for illegal mining does not exempt offenders from criminal prosecution.

Disposing of an application concerning illegal sand mining and storage in the Mahanadi riverbed at Chikhili village in Bargarh district, the NGT’s Eastern Zone Bench ordered the state government to initiate criminal proceedings against the alleged offender and recover environmental compensation for the ecological damage.

The NGT also directed the Bargarh Superintendent of Police and the Regional Officer of the Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) to register separate FIRs against Prem Kishore Patel, who was allegedly carrying out illegal sand mining and large-scale storage in the Mahanadi riverbed at Chikhili under Ambabhona tehsil without a valid mining lease.

The bench, comprising judicial member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert members A Senthil Vel and Ishwar Singh, said that compounding of offences under Section 23A of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, or payment of administrative penalties does not preclude criminal proceedings for theft of minerals. Such criminal liability has to be dealt with independently.

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Relying on Supreme Court judgments in Lalita Kumari vs Government of Uttar Pradesh and State of NCT of Delhi vs Sanjay, the tribunal underscored the obligation of law enforcement agencies to register FIRs when information discloses a cognisable offence involving theft of state-owned minerals.

Shivaji Patel of Bargarh had filed an application before the NGT, alleging that Prem Kishore Patel had been carrying out illegal sand mining and large-scale storage in the Mahanadi riverbed at Chikhili under Ambabhona tehsil without a valid mining lease. He alleged that sand was extracted using suction pumps mounted on boats and supplied commercially to construction projects and brick manufacturing units in the region.

During a raid on June 22, 2024, enforcement officials had reportedly detected around 8,688 cubic metres of illegally stored sand. However, the applicant alleged that the authorities repeatedly compounded the violations by imposing minor penalties instead of initiating criminal prosecution or seizing the machinery used for illegal mining.

A joint fact-finding committee comprising the Bargarh Collector, a senior scientist from the OSPCB and the district Mining Officer found that Chikhili was not a notified sand source and that no mining permission had ever been granted there.

The tribunal observed that the administration’s claim of not finding active mining during monsoon inspections could not absolve it of responsibility for taking action against illegally extracted and stored sand and its continuing commercial trade.

Besides directing criminal action against the alleged offender, the NGT ordered the OSPCB to initiate proceedings for the assessment and recovery of environmental compensation.

The NGT also asked the director of Mines and Geology to ensure that all vehicles transporting minor minerals were fitted with operational GPS-based vehicle tracking systems and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags. Vehicles without such tracking systems should not be allowed to operate for mineral transportation, while those found to be involved in illegal activities should be seized, it said.

The tribunal also directed the Odisha chief secretary to personally review compliance with mineral monitoring regulations at least once every quarter. Minutes of the review meetings and transparency reports must be uploaded on the state government’s official website.

It also said all illegally mined or stored river sand seized by enforcement agencies must be disposed of through public auction, with the proceeds deposited in an OSPCB fund earmarked exclusively for environmental restoration in the affected region..