Rivers, wildlife, industries, sand mining engaged NGT in 2013

Dumping of waste into drains, saving flora and fauna and adherence to environmental norms by industries were issues that engaged National Green Tribunal which gave a blow to the construction sector by banning sand mining nation-wide without due clearance in the year 2013.
Three years after its inception, the NGT has been a busy hub of environmental issues, ranging from challenges to nod granted to projects of big industries like South Korean steel major Posco, group companies of Adani, Essar, Vedanta, Anil Ambani's Reliance Power and Kumar Mangalam Birla's Hindalco to rehabilitation and restoration of calamity-hit Uttarakhand and protection of eco-fragile zones like Western Ghats.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests came in for NGT rap for its repeated non-representation in the forum and imposed fines on more than one occasion.
When the nation was grappling with shocking suspension of IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal in Uttar Pradesh for taking head-on the sand mafia in Noida and Greater Noida, the NGT delivered a critical order of total ban on sand mining without clearance in river beds and beaches evoking a sharp reaction from Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam.
The CJI observed that "100 per cent ban on sand mining is wrong". The order also made various state governments rush to the NGT bench headed by former apex court judge Justice Swatanter Kumar for modification of its direction which was not allowed.

The wildlife issue that hogged limelight in the tribunal in the year was about the death of around 19 species of animals -- from big cats like tigers and leopards to elephants and reptiles -- in Kaziranga national park in Assam.
The NGT asked the Centre and the state government to suggest ways to protect the environment as well as animals of the national park falling prey to the traffic on National Highway 37 passing alongside it.