Pampa de-silting: Union ministry seeks counsel

Expert panel formed after suo moto action by NGT on The Hindu report

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has sought the opinion of the Ministry of Law on whether the National Disaster Management Act, 2005, has an overriding effect on the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, in the case related to the removal of sand from the Pampa river pending before the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

The southern bench of the tribunal had constituted an expert committee after it took suo motu notice of The Hindu report ‘Forest dept. told to permit sand removal from Pampa’ published on May 30 last year. The State respondents were told to respond to the circumstances under which the National Disaster Management Act was invoked for the purpose of de-silting. The Opposition had accused the Left Democratic Front Government of having used flood preparedness as a cover to bypass the Forest Conservation Act.