Srinagar, Mar 27 (KNS) : The Jammu and Kashmir government has imposed an environmental compensation of over Rs 3.10 crore on a private construction company for causing extensive damage to the Shaliganga stream in Budgam district, following a Supreme Court directive.
The penalty was levied on NKC Projects Pvt Ltd after the apex court, in its judgment on August 22, 2025, upheld an earlier National Green Tribunal (NGT) order that had banned mining activities in the area, the government informed the Legislative Assembly.
The company had been granted environmental clearance in 2021 for riverbed mining but violated norms by using heavy machinery in contravention of the guidelines of the J&K State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (JKSEIAA), according to the government.
The environmental clearance was challenged before the NGT by noted RTI activist and environmentalist Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat. Following a series of hearings, the NGT imposed a blanket ban on mining in the region in 2022.
The company subsequently moved the Supreme Court against the NGT’s order. However, the apex court not only upheld the tribunal’s decision but also directed the J&K Pollution Control Committee (JKPCC) to take action against the violators, criticizing the Mining Department and the state environment authority for granting clearance without conducting a mandatory replenishment study.
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Responding to a query from National Conference MLA Ali Mohammad Dar, who represents the Chadoora constituency, Mining Minister informed the House that the J&K PCC had computed the environmental compensation against NKC Projects Pvt Ltd at Rs 3.10 crore.
The penalty was calculated for damage caused at three locations along the Shaliganga stream: Rs 87.47 lakh at Dreygam downstream, Rs 69.99 lakh at Banderpora, and Rs 1.57 crore near Panzan bridge to Lalgam in Chadoora.
However, Dr Bhat, who spearheaded the legal battle, expressed dissatisfaction over the delay in imposing the penalty and termed the amount insufficient given the scale of destruction.
"A lot of delay has been done in imposing environmental compensation. The J&K PCC should have done this soon after the NGT order of 2022. The company, after plundering Shaliganga, looted Sukhnag stream for three years, and the District Administration Budgam allowed that loot," Bhat told news agency Kashmir News Service (KNS).
He added that mining in Sukhnag was also banned by the NGT in January 2025, and an independent committee is currently probing that case. "I am yet to receive the official order. Once I get it, I will consult my legal counsels in the Supreme Court and NGT," he said. (KNS)