Guwahati: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed a Joint Committee to submit its fact-finding report within one month concerning allegations of illegal mining at Bheluguri Gaon in Assam’s Hojai district.
The order, issued on May 21, 2025, by the Eastern Zone Bench of NGT comes after a letter petition from Lakhya Jyoti Medhi, president of Sanatan Jagrato Senani, Assam, brought the matter to the Tribunal’s attention.
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The NGT, comprising Judicial Member Sudhir Agarwal and Expert Member Arun Kumar Verma, which took cognizance of the complaint on April 17, 2025, had previously constituted a Fact-Finding Committee on April 17, 2025.
This committee, comprising the District Magistrate & Collector of Hojai, a Senior Scientist from the Assam State Pollution Control Board, the Director of the Directorate of Geology & Mining (DGM), and a representative from the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), Assam, was initially given four weeks to submit its report.
However, as of the latest hearing, no report had been filed.
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During the May 21 hearing, the learned counsel representing the State Authorities informed the Tribunal that the Joint Committee had scheduled an inspection of the site for May 22, 2025, and assured that the inspection report would be submitted thereafter.
The counsel also requested and was granted a month’s time to file a formal response from the State Authorities.
The original complaint by Lakhya Jyoti Medhi, dated March 19, 2025, alleged that illegal mining and extraction of minor minerals have been ongoing in the Bheluguri Gaon area since January 4, 2024, without the necessary Forest Clearance or Environmental Clearance from competent authorities. Despite a complaint lodged with the Divisional Forest Officer (T), Nagaon on January 27, 2025, no action had been taken.
Medhi’s petition further highlighted the critical environmental impact of these activities, stating that Bheluguri Pahar serves as the sole source of drinking water for downstream villagers, with over 1000 houses relying on this water source, located approximately 300 meters away.
The NGT, in its initial April 17 order, had impleaded six respondents in the matter: the Department of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of Assam; the District Magistrate and Collector, Hojai; the Assam State Pollution Control Board; the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), Assam; the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Nagaon South Division, Hojai (now corrected to Territorial Nagaon Division, Hojai); and the Directorate of Geology and Mining (DGM), Assam.
Notices were issued to all respondents, but no responses had been filed by the May 21 hearing. The Tribunal has now granted the State Authorities a month to file their responses.
The case is now listed for further hearing on August 4, 2025, by which time both the fact-finding report from the Joint Committee and the responses from the State Authorities are expected to be on record.