The National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordered the Odisha government to permanently seal contaminated wells in the chromite-rich Sukinda valley, following findings that cancer-causing hexavalent chromium have contaminated the region’s groundwater. The NGT began the suo motu proceedings following a letter by Mantu Das. (NGT) The eastern zonal bench of NGT passed July 10 order after a comprehensive study by Central Ground Water Board revealed alarming levels of cancer-causing hexavalent chromium in the region’s deeper aquifers, even though the tribunal explicitly ruled out a direct link between the industrial pollution and a highly publicized string of kidney-related deaths in the area. The NGT began the suo motu proceedings following a letter by Mantu Das, a resident of Odisha’s Jajpur district, alleging that unchecked chromite mining in the Kaliapani industrial area had severely polluted local water sources. Das claimed this unchecked toxic contamination had triggered an urgent public health crisis, resulting in 10 to 15 deaths from kidney-related ailments within a single month. The Sukinda valley in Jajpur district holds roughly 97% of India’s chromite reserves and …