Cuttack: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered a high-level administrative probe into the alleged illegal mining operations going on in an "uncontrollable manner" in Dankari hill forest area in Dharmasala tehsil of Jajpur.

NGT's main bench in New Delhi has ordered the probe on a petition seeking direction to close down illegal mining activities involving black stone quarry on forestland as it was posing a threat to the surrounding human population.

Local resident Sarbeswar Behura filed the petition alleging that the unauthorised quarrying for black stone was going on over 41.50 acres of the forestland without any permission or environmental clearance whatsoever.

In his petition, Behura alleged that there had been incidents of death of many innocent villagers due to kidney-related ailments caused by contaminated drinking water and tuberculosis caused by acute air pollution in the area.

"The NGT bench "The tribunal has set a one month deadline for inspection and action," Pradhan said.

In its order, the NGT said: "We direct the secretary of the department of forest and environment, Odisha, to constitute a joint inspection team with representatives of the Odisha State Pollution Control Board, the chairman of the Environment Impact Assessment Authority (Odisha), the collector of Jajpur and the representatives of forest department to ascertain the facts by visiting the site and take appropriate steps in accordance with law within one month."

"The report of action should be furnished by email by the secretary of department forest and environment", the order said, while disposing the petition and fixing December 7 for consideration of the report.

The Tribunal's intervention assumes significance as the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has recently proposed to commence a Strategic Petroleum Reserves Project at Dankari Hill. Accordingly, the ministry had issued instructions to the State Government to take necessary measures to stop quarrying activities within Dankari Hill and area within 500 meter of the Buffer Zone.

The petitioner had alleged that though the District Administration had ordered for stoppage of illegal quarries and stone crushers on the hilly forest area "nothing has proved helpful and the said activities are still continuing in an uncontrollable manner".

The houses in the surrounding villages have generated cracks by the dreadful vibrations caused due to wagon drilling and blasting used for extraction of minor minerals. Moreover, there is imminent danger of groundwater depletion and hill diminishing, the petitioner further alleged.

According to the petition unauthorized quarries, stone crushers, wagon drilling is being undertaken within six thousand acres of hilly forest area in a clandestine manner since for the past several years.