Rohtak, July 23 -- The Haryana government has defended the environmental clearance granted to a sand mining project in the Yamuna belt of Karnal before the National Green Tribunal (NGT), contending that the plea challenging it is time-barred and that the approval followed due process with stringent environmental safeguards.

In its reply before the principal bench of the NGT, the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) sought dismissal of the appeal challenging the environmental clearance granted to a private transport company for a 94.35-hectare sand mining project at Chandraon Garhpur Tapu block in Karnal.

According to the affidavit filed by SEIAA member secretary Virender Kumar Dahiya, the proposal covering Chandraon, Ga...