Chandigarh, July 16 -- The Union ministry of mines has moved the National Green Tribunal (NGT) seeking deletion of its name from a petition challenging the Punjab government's river desilting projects, arguing that it has no statutory role in regulating, monitoring, or granting approvals for such activities, which fall exclusively within the jurisdiction of the state government.

The application stems from an ongoing environmental dispute in which the NGT, in February this year, stayed desilting operations at several sites across Punjab, including in Ropar district, over concerns that the activity was being undertaken for commercial extraction of minor minerals without obtaining mandatory environmental clearances. The interim order follow...