- The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had directed the Andhra Pradesh government to deposit ₹100 crore environment compensation for illegal sand mining.
- NGT’s direction came in the backdrop of a plea which had alleged illegal sand mining was causing damage to the Krishna and Godavari rivers and their tributaries in the state.
- Following NGT’s order mining reaches that are in the vicinity of Vijayawada and Guntur have been closed. This has severely impacted the construction industry.
- The National Green Tribunal was established in 2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act 2010. The responsibility of the tribunal is to work on the disposal of cases related to environmental protection, conservation of forests and other natural resources.
