Nearly three years after media reports exposed rampant illegal mining in Rupnagar’s Beet area, the Punjab Pollution Control Board’s (PPCB) own compliance record, filed before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday, shows that eight of the 13 crushers penalised are back in operation, while more than ₹ 90 lakh in environmental compensation remains unpaid.
The picture across the wider area is similarly uneven. Acting on the NGT’s direction to inspect other crushers, the board examined 18 additional units and found nine in violation of environmental norms, prompting show-cause notices to eight and imposition of fresh environmental compensation on one. Five more were found partially compliant and were issued advisories, while just three of the 18 were found fully compliant with norms and consent conditions.
Meanwhile, eight of the 13 originally penalised crushers are back in operation after the director, mines and geology, passed speaking orders finding no “conclusive evidence” of illegal mining and citing the year-long closure already undergone by the units, before restoring their registrations and consents to operate.
