The East Zone Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on the divisional forest officer (DFO) of Jharsuguda for not filing a response despite receiving over three opportunities in a case involving alleged encroachment of forest land and environmental violations by a private steel plant in the district.
The bench, consisting of Arun Kumar Tyagi (Judicial Member) and Ishwar Singh (Expert Member), noted that the DFO’s “non-compliance” had led to “unnecessary adjournment, expense and delay” in resolving the matter.
The tribunal ordered that the fine be paid to the petitioner through his counsel within one month. Additionally, it granted a final opportunity to submit a response within the same timeframe, contingent on the deposit of the cost. The case is scheduled for further hearing on July 8.
Satrughan Meher, a local resident, filed the petition seeking the Tribunal’s intervention against the ongoing construction work related to the steel plant’s capacity expansion project, claiming it was being conducted without the necessary approval under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980.
Notices requesting a response from the relevant authorities were initially issued on September 22, 2025. The petitioner, represented by advocates Sankar Prasad Pani and Ashutosh Padhy, also requested an interim stay on the construction activities, alleging that part of the land utilized by the company falls under the “village forest” category and that no valid forest diversion clearance was obtained for the project.
Documents obtained through an RTI request by the petitioner allegedly indicated that a previous proposal for the diversion of 5.229 hectares of forest land had lapsed and no new application was submitted thereafter.
