Sand quarrying resumes after four months of ban

Follow us:WhatsappFacebookTwitterTelegram.cls-1{fill:#4d4d4d;}.cls-2{fill:#fff;}Google NewsAfter a gap of nearly four months, sand quarrying commenced on Friday in 10 of the 36 sand reaches for which union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) had given its permission. Totally, 18 of 36 reaches were auctioned and one sand reach, located in a scheduled area of Khammam, was allocated to APMDC limited. According to minister of mines Galla Aruna Kumari, approximately 47.78 lakh cubic metres of sand was available in the 18 sand reaches that were auctioned. She said they had given permission for quarrying 69,000 cubic metres of sand in nine reaches of East Godavari district. In West Godavari, permits were given for quarrying 4,500 cubic metres. Auction for two reaches in Krishna district is in process, while auction for six of seven reaches in Srikakulam district was conducted. Auction for five reaches in Nellore and three in Guntur will be held shortly. In March, a public interest litigation was filed in the High Court, against the overexploitation of sand that was taking place due to the nexus between contractors, politicians and bureaucrats, that would cause damage to the environment in the long run. Concurring with the view point, high court had imposed a ban on sand quarrying in the state from April 1. The state government filed a petition in the High Court requesting the lift of ban. But the court refused the same on the grounds that the government was not bothered about the damage that was being caused to the environment. The Supreme Court too refused to stay the high court’s ban on sand quarrying and asked the state government to approach the MoEF. Permissions were then given on the assurance that the apex court’s directions will be adhered to. Aruna Kumari said there will be strict vigilance on sand quarrying and any violations of the directions will be strictly dealt with. The government had also given temporary permits for lifting sand from the canals to the tune of 1.13 lakh cubic metres for 17 irrigation projects. It is estimated that 1.36 lakh cubic metres of sand could be lifted from Dhavaleswaram Submergence Area. It was decided to utilise the 84,679 cubic metres of sand that was seized for Godavari delta modernisation works and 1.34 lakh cubic metres in the stock yards for government worksfirst published:July 21, 2012, 12:09 ISTlast updated:July 21, 2012, 12:09 IST 
window._taboola = window._taboola || [];_taboola.push({mode: 'thumbnails-a', container: 'taboola-below-article-thumbnails', placement: 'Below Article Thumbnails', target_type: 'mix' });Latest News