Cuttack, Oct. 2: The National Green Tribunal has ordered an administrative inquiry into the alleged large scale 'illegal and unlawful extraction of minor minerals' by contractors engaged by Rail Vikash Nigam Ltd (RVNL) for construction of the Angul-Duburi-Sukinda broad gauge line.

The tribunal issued the probe order on a petition alleging that around two lakh cubic metres of minor minerals - soil, earth and morrum - had been illegally extracted from adjoining lands without environmental and forest clearance and consent order of the Odisha State Pollution Control Board.

Keonjhargada resident Sasee Bhoosan Patnaik filed the petition and said: 'Indiscriminate and illegal mining of soil/morrum/earth without environment safeguards is threatening the life and livelihood of the people living along the sides of the pits from where the minor minerals has been removed.'

Rail Vikash Nigam Ltd, through two contractors, is constructing the 97km Angul-Duburi-Sukinda railway link from Baghuapal in Jajpur district to Budhapank in Angul district.

The construction requires huge quantities of soil, morrum and earth for its earth bed.

The construction of the earth bed between the 19th and 47th kilometre of the line is underway and making rapid progress.

According to the petition, the soil, morrum, earth had been extracted from adjoining villages in Muktaposi, Siriamalia, Kapasi, Patharakhamba of Parjang tehsil and Khairinali, Tangarapada, Nuapani, Baligorada, Banguru, Sibalaposi, Chulia, Altuma, Rekula Kamakhyanagar of Kamakhyanagar tehsil and other villages adjacent to the under-construction railway line.

The petitioner, on the basis of information obtained through the RTI Act, claimed that the tehsildars of Kamakshaynagar and Parjang had issued letters to RVNL authorities to stop illegal quarrying and extraction without environmental clearance and lifting orders on February 7, 2017 and January 27, 2017 respectively.

'Indiscriminate and illegal extraction of soil/earth/morrum from various sources without any environmental impact assessment have so many adverse effects on environment where question of survival arises,' the petition said.