CHANDIGARH, Aug. 14 -- Nearly three years after media reports exposed rampant illegal mining in Rupnagar's Beet area, the Punjab Pollution Control Board's (PPCB) own compliance record, filed before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday, shows that eight of the 13 crushers penalised are back in operation, while more than Rs.90 lakh in environmental compensation remains unpaid.

The "Beet area" near Rupnagar and Hoshiarpur is a high-altitude flat upland plateau formed by the Upper Shivalik hill formations.

The board's action taken report, filed in compliance with the NGT's order dated February 4, 2026, in a suo motu case based on media reports published on September 28, 2023, about illegal mining, shows that of 13 stone crushers or...