NGT constitutes committee for Bastar Mine collapse incident

New Delhi [India], December 28 (ANI): The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has constituted a fact-finding committee after taking suo moto cognizance of media reports stating seven dead as part of a limestone mine collapse in Bastar Village of Chhattisgarh.

NGT in an order passed last week stated that since it appears from the media report that intervention of this Tribunal is called for under Section 15 of the NGT Act for providing relief to the victims of the incident and to prevent such incidents in future, we constitute a fact-finding Committee.

The fact-finding committee comprises Principal Secretary (Environment), Chhattisgarh (as Chairman) and CPCB, CECB, District Magistrate and SSP, Bastar (as Members). CECB will be the nodal agency for coordination and compliance, the bench headed by Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said.

“The Committee may meet within two weeks, undertake a visit to the site, interact with the stakeholders, ascertain the cause of the incident and persons responsible for the same, particulars of the victims and relief to them and preventive measures for future and furnish a factual and action taken report in the matter within two months,” the Tribunal said.

The Committee will be at liberty to co-opt any other expert/institution and interact with any concerned authority to complete its task.

The Committee will be free to conduct proceedings online except for site visits. The Committee may also take into account recent reports about accidents on account of violation of environmental norms. In such reports CPCB has been a party and will be in a position to provide necessary inputs.

Earlier on December 2, seven people, including six women, died after a limestone cave in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar collapsed. All the victims were locals who had been extracting limestone for personal use, sources had said.