NGT rules FIRs mandatory for theft of state-owned minerals even after penalties are paid

Key facts

• The National Green Tribunal (NGT) ruled that police and mining authorities are legally bound to register FIRs under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for theft of state-owned minerals, and payment of penalties or compounding of offences under Section 23A of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 does not bar criminal prosecution.
• The NGT's Eastern Zone Bench directed Odisha authorities to initiate criminal proceedings against Prem Kishore Patel for alleged illegal sand mining and large-scale storage in the Mahanadi riverbed at Chikhili village in Bargarh district, and ordered the Bargarh Superintendent of Police and the Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) Regional Officer to register separate FIRs.
• A raid on June 22, 2024 detected around 8,688 cubic metres of illegally stored sand, and a joint fact-finding committee found Chikhili was not a notified sand source and no mining permission had ever been granted there.
• The NGT ordered the OSPCB to assess and recover environmental compensation, directed GPS-based vehicle tracking and RFID tags on all vehicles transporting minor minerals, and asked the Odisha chief secretary to review compliance quarterly with reports uploaded on the state website.
• The tribunal also directed that all seized illegally mined river sand be disposed of through public auction, with proceeds deposited in an OSPCB fund for environmental restoration in the affected region.