Ranchi: The apex body that monitors environmental concerns has come down heavily on the Jharkhand government for failing to curb illegal mining and stone quarrying in Hazaribagh and Koderma, directing it to identify all erring officials.

The National Green Tribunal order, received by the state government on Friday, has asked it to ensure that all erring officials filed individual affidavits by August 24 in the presence of the mines director.

Advocate Satya Prakash, who had filed the case on the plunder of natural resources that was being heard on Thursday when NGT issued the order, said the court was in no mood to give any more time to the government.

"The order specifically states that the government should identify each and every person responsible and fix accountability. It has asked the government to detail the ecological losses accrued, identify mine owners and start a recovery process. Each identified person should file an affidavit, in addition to separate affidavits by the district task force, forest and mines department," he said.

Prakash, who has been fighting against illegal stone crusher and mining units that are destroying the pristine forests of Hazaribagh and Koderma since 2008-09, had moved the NGT in 2015. On January 29, the NGT ordered Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and others to set up a high-level committee to conduct a field review before March 15.

Thereafter, the committee visited the two districts and discovered rampant violations and submitted a report to NGT. District administrations of Hazaribagh and Koderma conducted raids through April and May razing several illegal stone quarries and mining units.

But the NGT wasn't impressed.

"NGT is in no mood to relent. At yesterday's (Thursday) hearing when the state lawyer spoke of the measures the government was taking, NGT became angry, saying that it seemed everyone had closed their eyes towards the ecological losses," Prakash said.