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 originally penalised for alleged illegal mining through closure orders, environmental compensation and cancelled registrations, six remain shut, with substantial dues still outstanding against them. Kalgidhar Stone Crusher owes Rs.13.87 lakh, Bhalla Cone Crusher Rs.13.92 lakh, New Satluj Stone Crusher Rs.13.21 lakh, and Puri Stone Crusher a striking Rs.50.75 lakh - together accounting for more than Rs.90 lakh in unrecovered environmental compensation. The units remain closed and unregistered. Meanwhile, eight of the 13 originally penalised crushers are back in operation after the director, mines and geology, passed speaking orders finding no "conclusive evidence" of illegal mining and citing the year-long closure already undergone by the units, before restoring their registrations and consents to operate. The picture across the wider area is similarly uneven. Acting on the NGT's direction to inspect other crushers, the board examined 18 additional units and found nine in violation of environmental norms, prompting show-cause notices to eight and imposition of fresh environmental compensation on one. Five more were found partially compliant and were issued advisories, while just three of the 18 were found fully compliant with norms and consent conditions. On the question of raw material sourcing - central to the illegal mining allegations - the executive engineer, drainage-cum-mining and geology division, Ropar/Anandpur, took over a year and several reminder letters from the PPCB before furnishing usable data. In July 2026, the official confirmed that all 171 stone crushers in Rupnagar district source material from within Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. The report, however, does not state whether the claim was independently verified against ground-level extraction records. The NGT disposed of the matter on February 4, 2026, directing the PPCB to recover pending compensation, inspect remaining crushers, and act against violators under the Punjab Regulation of Crusher Units, Stockists and Retailers Act, 2025....