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Cover Story
Mining hot spots
Legal or illegal, sand is mined without restraint in most parts of the country. Some states where illegal mining has been widely reported
1. GUJARAT
Rivers Ambika, Purna, Kaveri, Tapi and Khapra are severely affected by illegal sand mining. It is forming cavities in the riverbed and accelerating water salinity. This is resulting in diminishing agricultural produce
2. MAHARASHTRA
In October 2010, a new policy made gram sabha’s permission for sand mining essential. Now, sand mining projects also need environmental clearance. The creeks at Thane, Navi Mumbai, Raigad and Ratnagiri are most affected by mining
3. KARNATAKA
The Uniform Sand Mining Policy does not allow mining in Coastal Regulation Zones and prohibits use of machinery. The rivers affected are Cauvery, Lakshmanateerta, Harangi, Hemavathi, Nethravatai and Papaganii
4. KERALA
Kerala Protection of River Banks and Regulation of Removal of Sand Act, 2001, permits mining in areas that will be managed by a committee. The rivers affected are Bharatapuzha, Kuttiyadi, Achankovil, Pampa, Manimala, Periyar, Bhavani, Siruvani, Thuthapuzha, Chitturpuzha
5. TAMIL NADU
A policy ensures that quarrying in government poramboke land and private patta land can only be undertaken by the government. The rivers affected are Cauvery, Vaigai, Palar, Cheyyar, Araniyar, Kosathalaiyar, Bhavani, Vellar, Vaigai, Thamiraparani and Kollidam
6. ANDHRA PRADESH
A policy allows only manual labour and bullocks for mining. Contractors can be allotted sand through open bidding by a panel headed by district joint collectors. Rivers affected are Godavari, Tungabhadra, Vamsadhara, Nagavali, Bahuda and Mahendratanaya
7. ODISHA
Despite public agitation, sand is mined extensively. Districts like Jajapur are constantly in the grip of sand miners and contractors. Odisha’s coastline comprises deposits of ilmenite, garnet, sillimanite, rutile, zircon, monazite, magnetite and pyriboles
8. WEST BENGAL
Ruled by the mafia, stone quarrying in Birbhum’s Mohammad Bazaar is widespread. Minerals found in beach sand include Ilmenite and sillimanite
9. BIHAR
Illegal mining is rampant in Bhagalpur, Banka, Munger, Jamui, Lakhisarai, Sheikhpura, Patna, Bhojpur, Saran, Rohtas, Bhabhua, Aurangabad, Buxar, Gaya, Nalanda, Navada, Siwan, Jehanabad, Gopalganj, Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Bettiah, Supaul, Motihari, Madhubani, Kishanganj, Saharsa and Madhepura
10. UTTARAKHAND
Illegal sand mining and stone crushing along the Ganga near Haridwar is a major worry for the inhabitants of Matri Sadan ashram, the abode of Swami Nigamanand who died while on protest fast. Illegal mining along the Gomti is another cause for worry for the farmers of Telihat village
11. NAGALAND
Sand mining is carried out along the Dansari river in Dimapur to boost the booming construction industry in the state. Dansari is the largest river in the state and has the highest concentration of sand
12. MADHYA PRADESH
State exempts sand mining from environmental clearance. Mining areas are not demarcated. Therefore, mining far exceeds the allotted area. A strong nexus between contractors, politicians and bureaucrats facilitates illegal mining. It is rampant in the rivers Chambal, Narmada, Betwa and Ken
Tags: Cover Story, Amaravathi, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Building Materials, Cement Industry, Chambal, Common Property Resources, Construction Industry, Corruption, Ecosystems, Environment Impact Assessment (EIA), Gharials, Godavari, Groun, Groundwater, Gujarat, Guntur (D), Haryana, High Court, Hydrology, India, Karnataka, kerala, Krishna, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mining, Ministry of Mines, Morena (D), Nagaland, Orissa, Panchayats, Politics, Punjab, Rajasthan, Riverine Ecology, Rivers, Roads, Ropar, sand mining, Sehore (D), Srikakulam (D), Supreme Court, Sutlej, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal (Uttarakhand), Vijayawada, West Bengal, Mining-Yearender-2012
Mainly West bengal is divided geologically into two parts,south-western bengal and east bengal. Lithology of south-western bengal is composed of hard,crystalline rocks and rivers ( like Damodor,Ajoy,Hinglo,Darokeshwari) are full of sillica sands and Eastern bengal is composed of soft rocks like clay,shale,sandstone so rivers( like Hoogli,icchamoti) are lack of sands.Now most of the cities are present in eastern bengal and due to huge construction project in those cities,sand mining is happening many part of the South- Western bengal as bec eastern bengal's rivers are devoid of silica sand . Other cause of sand mining in west bengal is due to underground coal mining. Huge amount of sand are used for sandstowing in Raniganj,ASANSOL COAL coalfield areas. So Sands are mining maximum rivers of south bengal and most are unscientifically and illegally...As a consequences, river shifting,collapse of river bank,exposing river bed,silting in river water,pollution from heavy machineryused in sand mining are common side effect in this areas.
Arindam Ghsoh
The issue of sand mining (both legal and illegal)is not something pertaining to Madhya Pradesh,Andhra Pradesh or Maharashtra, it prevails all over the country.Here in Kerala we do not have any perennial rivers but only seasonal rivers.These rivers are swollen during the monsoon season, and becomes a small rivulet during summer. The sand mafia here swings into action during the summer and cart away sand that is ten times the permissible limit.There is one particular case of River Bharatapuzha in central Kerala , supposed to provide drinking water to three districts,uncontrolled sand mining in this river has played havoc on the fragile ecosytem of this area, the politicians and authorities are hand in glove with the mining mafia.The day is not far off when our children starts saying "Rivers are providers of sand".
Prof.P.P.Premachandran
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