Deadly pitfalls of illegal sand mining

Rising incidents of fatal drowning in unrecorded sand-mining pits across the state have pressed the alarm bell on illegal and unregulated sand mining along the rivers. Most of the victims are children and young bathers, as they are unaware of deep pits created due to rampant sand mining which lie unmarked and underwater after the water level rise. The strict enforcement of sand mining norms is essential to prevent further loss of lives. This calls for bridging the regulatory gaps in sand extraction duly permitted by the Forest Department and also strengthening surveillance against illegal and unauthorised extraction. Mapping of all areas under sand mining in the state has become an urgent necessity to mark the deep pits left as footprints of illegal sand extraction under the guise of permits granted by the government. Recurrence of the incidents of drowning despite repeated complaints lodged by local residents against illegal and rampant sand extraction corroborates the allegation of some corrupt officials being in cahoots with illegal sand miners. Apart from loss of lives of humans and wildlife, unregulated and rampant sand mining has a heavy toll on river ecology as it degrades the habitat of aquatic species and aggravates riverbank erosion by altering the natural flow regime. The problem precipitated once sand miners started deploying heavy excavators. In sharp contrast, traditional manual sand mining is far more ecologically sustainable. However, a steep rise in demand for river sand for infrastructure and real estate projects driven by the push for connectivity in the state and a rise in disposable income and easy home loan credit incentivised mechanised sand mining and deployment of excavators and dumpers in the pursuit of concrete-heavy growth for quick profit. When projects of sand mining undergo layered safeguards in the form of environmental impact assessments, expert appraisal committees, and state expert appraisal committees stipulating conditions for protecting the environment, it is baffling that provisions of the Enforcement and Monitoring Guidelines for Sand Mining (EMGSM), 2020, continue to remain on paper with no visible efforts to rein in illegal sand miners on the ground. The EMGSM, 2020, was formulated to strengthen the regulatory regime, which was the objective of the Sustainable Sand Management Guidelines 2016. The document mentions an order passed by the National Green Tribunal in 2018 in which the Green Tribunal made a critical observation: "There can be no two views that an effective institutional monitoring mechanism is required not only at the stage when environmental clearance is granted but also at subsequent stages." The guidelines emphasise ascertaining the rate of replenishment of sand along the river reaches and conducting a regular replenishment study to keep a balance between deposition and extraction and also provide for the procedure to be followed. It, however, points out that even after all the regulatory procedures and policies being in place, there are instances where illegal mining is taking place and underscores the need for regular surveillance of the sand mining reaches. Effective use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)/drones by the monitoring agency, as recommended in the guidelines for monitoring the sand mining sites, reserves estimation, quantity estimation, and land use monitoring, can play a crucial role in curbing illegal sand extraction and overextraction, but persistent violation of the environmental norms and sand miners carrying on rampant sand extraction with impunity speak volumes of the regulatory loopholes that need to be plugged without further delay. The sand mining guidelines in force underpin the preparation of the District Survey Report (DSR) as a very important step and insist that sustainable sand mining in any part of the country depends on the quality of the District Survey Report. It is, therefore, important to ensure that not only does the state have updated DSR for every district but also that those are subjected to rigorous scrutiny by domain experts for validating the quality of survey findings and incorporation of data from the field in the reports. The guidelines state without any ambiguity that DSR for sand mining shall be prepared before the auction/e-auction/grant of the mining lease/Letter of Intent by the mining department or department dealing with the mining activity in the respective states. Instances of the NGT staying sand mining in areas without prior preparation of the DSR in the state expose alarming gaps in the regulatory and monitoring regime that allows illegal mining to continue despite adequate prescribed safeguards. Fixing accountability on officials concerned for lapses in monitoring in every incident of fatal drowning in deep pits in areas of sand mining is essential to demolish the alleged illegal nexus that thrives on rampant mining carried out in violation of the environmental norms and over-extraction in total disregard for the safety of people living in the vicinity. Stringent measures such as the imposition of heavy penalties and blacklisting are required to curb illegal sand mining. Fatal drowning in deep pits of sand mining is a wake-up call that the state can no longer ignore.