NGT orders Jagannath temple body to pay 12 crore for illegal mining on its land

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered the Jagannath temple administration to pay the Odisha government 12 crore for allowing illegal quarrying of laterite and black stone on land belonging to the temple in Khordha district. The money will be used to fill the abandoned quarries with fly ash and moorum.

The temple administration was instructed to deposit 12 crore with the Khordha district collector, who will form a committee to carry out restitution, reclamation, and renovation of the excavated areas within the next four months, and submit an Action Taken Report with the tribunal by March 31 next year.

The eastern zonal bench of the NGT is made up of justice B. Amit Sthalekar and judicial member Saibal Dasgupta. Earlier, the Khordha district collector proposed collecting compensation from the owners of the vehicles transporting the mineral, but the NGT rejected the idea, stating that not only the drivers, but also the individuals engaged in illegal mining who needed to be identified, required to be recognised.

"It has been established that it would be Shree Jagannath Temple Administration, Puri," the NGT stated in its order dated October 14. "The mining has also been carried out over an extensive area. The committee (panel formed to identify the illegal mining) had failed to pinpoint and identify the persons who had carried out the illegal mining of laterite. On Tuesday, the decision was posted online. Vir Vikram Yadav, the head administrator of Sri Jagannath Temple, declined to comment on the NGT judgement.