New Delhi Aug 22 (KNS) : The Supreme Court of India has upheld the order of National Green Tribunal -NGT wherein a private company namely NKC Projects Pvt Ltd was barred from carrying out riverbed mining work in Shali Ganga stream in Panzan area of Budgam district in Kashmir. Noted activist Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat had sought NGTs intervention in year 2022 as heavy machinery was used by the company to excavate huge boulders and other kinds of riverbed material. Initially NGT stayed the mining work and finally a full fledged judgement was pronounced in September 2022 banning the mining work by NKC Projects Pvt Ltd. The company filed an appeal against the order in Supreme Court which was finally dismissed on Friday August 22nd 2025. National Highway Authority of India-NHAI & J&K Govt had also become parties in this case at a later stage.

The Supreme Court came heavily on J&K State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority -JKSEIAA & J&K Expert Appraisal Committee-EAC for not adhering to the guidelines while granting Environmental Clearance. While pronouncing the judgement the Supreme Court Justice P S Narasihma and Justice Atul S Chandurkar said that J&K Expert Appraisal Committee- EAC committed a serious error in proceeding further with the District Survey Report -DSR once it realised that DSR was not formulated as per the Ministry of Environment Forests and Climate Change -MoEF&CC Notification 2016 and 2020 on sand mining guidelines and also when the replenishment data.

“Further, the half-hearted approach adopted by the J&K EAC is evident from its final recommendation for grant of EC with validity of only three years from the date of commencement of the mining operations duly certified by the District Mineral Officer concerned with intimation to the JKEIAA and JKPCB in view of non-availability of replenishment data”

Supreme Court also castigated the J&K Environmental Impact Assessment Authority-EIAA saying that they gave Environmental Clearance -EC to NKC Projects Pvt Ltd (Project Proponent) on the basis of District Survey Report-DSR of Budgam ( for riverbed mining) without considering replenishment report.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel

The order further reads : “It is unfortunate that J&K EIAA compromised with regulatory integrity by granting the environment clearances (EC) on the basis of a DSR without a replenishment report. The compromise sought to be achieved by permitting the project proponent to go ahead with a “restricted mining depth of maximum 1 meter and bulk density of 2.0 for production of the mineral and supplying it to maximum production of 34800 mt in view of non-availability of replenishment data” is unacceptable. The illegality committed by the J&K EAC in so recommending is accentuated with the J&K EIAA in granting EC. This is how regulatory failure occurs “

Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat who had been the respondent in this case appreciated the Supreme Court's judgement and hoped that this would make the environmental bodies accountable. He said that he would file a separate case against both J&K Environmental Impact Assessment Authority-JKEIAA and J&K Environment Appraisal Committee- JKEAC for committing blunders while giving environmental clearance to construction companies.

" I am grateful to my counsels Senior Advocate Anita Shenoy , Advocate on Record Srishti Agnothri and others lawyers for pleading my case in Supreme Court. I will file a separate case against J&K Environmental Impact Assessment Authority-JKEIAA and J&K Environment Appraisal Committee- JKEAC for committing blunders while giving environmental clearance to construction companies and project proponents for undertaking riverbed mining.(KNS)