The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Tuesday imposed a penalty of Rs 12 crore on Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) on charges of illegal stone mining in Khordha’s Nijigad Tapang.
As per reports, the SJTA has set up 59 stone mining quarries on Shree Jagannath’s land in Nijigad Tapang. The stone mining activities caused a harsh impact on the environment. The estimated cost of renovation, reclamation, and restitution of the excavated areas at the quarries is Rs 12 crore.
The NGT has instructed the SJTA to deposit the penalty amount with the Khordha collector within four months.
Furthermore, the Khordha Collector is instructed to form a committee and carry out the renovation, reclamation, and restitution of the excavated areas with the penalty amount.