NGT issues notice to Odisha govt, pollution boards over railway siding green norms 'flout'

Cuttack: National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued notice to state govt, Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on a petition alleging violation of environmental norms for construction of a railway siding for coal handling at Golabandha in Angul district.

NGT’s east zone bench in Kolkata gave the direction while recently hearing a petition filed by Pradeep Kumar Biswal and two other residents challenging the consent to establish granted by OSPCB to Nalco for setting up a railway siding over 16.23 acres at Sankerjang and Golabandha mouzas under Banarpal tehsil to handle and transport 15,000 metric tonnes of coal daily .


The plea raises “substantial questions relating to environment” under the NGT Act, 2010, the bench of Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi (judicial member) and Ishwar Singh (expert member) observed in its Dec 9 order after hearing the submissions of petitioner counsels Sankar Prasad Pani and Ashutosh Padhy. The order was uploaded on Thursday.

Accordingly, the bench issued notices to the chief secretary, Angul collector, Nalco’s executive director, member secretary of OSPCB and member secretary, CPCB, to file their responses within one month and listed the matter for Feb 2, 2026.

The petitioners have sought closure of the project, environmental compensation for alleged illegal extraction of soil and morrum, prosecution of offenders and fixing of responsibility on erring officials for permitting the project in violation of environmental norms.

According to the petition, the project violates OSPCB’s own 2010 site criteria for mineral stack yards and railway sidings, which mandate minimum distances from highways, schools, hospitals and other sensitive locations. They claimed that several hamlets and residential clusters, including Gauda Sahi, lie within 50 metres of the proposed siding, while govt schools, agricultural land, temples and densely populated villages fall within a 500-metre radius.

Terming railway sidings as “red category” units with high pollution potential, the petitioners said the project would worsen air pollution and traffic congestion, as coal trucks would ply through village and panchayat roads, damaging local infrastructure.

The plea also alleged illegal extraction of soil and morrum from nearby villages, including Krushnachandrapur, Golabandha and Sanakerjang, without environmental clearance, for use in construction of the siding.