Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI: The Eastern Zone Bench of the National Green Tribunal in Kolkata has asked various officials and authorities from the Assam government to respond within a month about illegal sand mining happening on the Singla River in Karimganj district.
The Coram of Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana as Judicial Member and Ishwar Singh as Expert Member issued the order in Original Application No. 80/2026/EZ, which was registered on the basis of a letter petition sent through email by Sanjib Das.
Sanjib Das had sent the email to the Tribunal on August 30, 2025, for exercise of suo motu jurisdiction in view of the law laid down by the Supreme Court in a 2022 case (Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai Versus Ankita Sinha and others).
The Tribunal revealed the relevant part of the letter petition enumerating grievances of the applicant, which was stated as “an urgent and serious complaint regarding widespread illegal sand mining currently taking place in the Singla River, Karimganj District, Assam.”
The petition stated that the ‘destructive activity’ is occurring along a 20-kilometre stretch, from Anipur to Nivia in Karimganj District. “The unchecked excavation is having severe and visible consequences. We have already witnessed the collapse of the Dullabcherra Bridge due to uncontrolled sand removal and the heavy movement of overburdened trucks. Furthermore, the continuous destruction of the riverbanks is causing significant loss of agricultural land, which directly threatens the livelihoods and safety of nearby villages. In the absence of a usable bridge, these heavy sand trucks are now overusing the Vidyanagar Bypass Road, leading to its rapid deterioration. This has created immense hardship for the general public, as the transportation of essential goods has become extremely difficult. As a result, the prices of food, fuel, and other daily necessities have increased sharply, disproportionately affecting poor families, farmers, and daily wage earners,” the petition further stated.
The Tribunal subsequently stated, “Heard the applicant and gone through the material on record. Prima facie, the averments made in the application raise substantial questions relating to the environment arising out of the implementation of the enactments specified in Schedule I to the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010. In view of the averments in the application, we consider it appropriate to have response of (1) State of Assam, through the Chief Secretary, Govt of Assam; (2) Principal Secretary, Environment Department, Govt of Assam; (3) District Commissioner, Karimganj, Assam; and (4) Assam State Pollution Control Board, who stand impleaded as respondents Nos. 1 to 4. The Registry is directed to prepare and attach a memo of parties to the application and issue notices to respondents No.1 to 4 requiring them to file their replies/responses within one month.”
The respondents 1 to 4 have been directed to file their responses within one month, and the OA is listed on July 3, 2026, for further consideration.
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