Bhubaneswar: The state government has drafted a sand policy to curb illegal sand mining from various river beds.
The policy will be put up before the state Cabinet for approval, official sources said here Saturday.
On the basis of sand mining framework formulated by the ministry of mines, the revenue and disaster management department has prepared the draft policy after consulting concerned departments.
Due to heavy demand of sand in different parts of the state for developmental and welfare projects and demand of quality sand in neighboring states, illegal lifting of sand is occurring in the state, the sources said.
In many cases, such illegal mining has caused severe damage to the embankments and roads, causing heavy burden to the state exchequer to repair these. The draft policy aims to curb such practices.
As per the draft policy, the district collectors have to prepare district survey report for demand-supply estimation and gap assessment every five years. While preparing the report, the other districts which depend on the concerned district for supply of sand will also be taken into consideration.
SNEAK PEEK
# Odisha Space Application Centre to identify sand mines
# Sand mining at night (from 7 pm to 6 am) to be stopped unless such operations are considered necessary for specific reasons.
# Inter-state transportation of sand will be allowed only from the specific identified sources
# To ensure round-the-clock monitoring of the sand mines, a web-based MIS will be developed and computerised system will be implemented
To identify the sand mines, a survey will be conducted by Odisha Space Application Centre (ORSAC) in consultation with water resource department. In case operation of any lease causes any damage to the embankment or nearby structures, the lease will be revoked, the draft policy said.
Concerned tehsildar will put up the sand mine for auction after receiving environmental clearance. While preparing mining plan, the distance of mining area from habitations, heritage sites, monuments, public infrastructure facilities will be taken into consideration.
The government has decided to stop sand mining at night (from 7 pm to 6 am), unless such operations are considered necessary for specific reasons.
Inter-state transportation of sand will be allowed only from the specific identified sources having huge amount of sand.
To ensure round-the-clock monitoring of the sand mines, a web-based MIS will be developed and computerised system will be implemented in selected sources on a pilot basis, which will be extended to other sources in a phased manner.
The policy is likely to be come into force next April 1, 2019. Revenue department in consultation with steel and mines department will issue operative guidelines from time to time for implementation of the policy.
PNN
