The new policy, which bans production and transport of filtered sand, will free the villages, including Vijaypura and Devanahalli, of adverse effects of reckless sand mining and smuggling.
The new policy bans use of filtered sand throughout the State and prohibits sand transportation to Bangalore Urban district from other districts. The lorries transporting sand will have to be monitored strictly.
Till recently, the Karnataka Minor Mineral Concession Rules (KMMCR) 1994, through which sand was disposed, stipulated that the persons found guilty of illegal sand transportation would be sentenced to a one-year jail term. According to a press release from the deputy director, Bangalore Rural Mines and Geology, the Karnataka Sand Policy 2011 states that persons engaged in mining of filtered sand will be booked under the Goonda Act.
Over the past four years, the filtered sand mining had increased to dangerous levels, spreading even to the fertile cultivable land and changing the course of rivers in certain regions. Machines and vehicles worth lakhs of rupees were seized during the raids on the mining units.
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