NGT order: Udupi, Dakshina Kannada DCs ban removal of sand bars from CRZs

Following the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) directions to the government on sand extraction in the coastal regulation zone (CRZ), Udupi Deputy Commissioner M Kurma Rao and Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner Dr Rajendra K V have banned the removal of sand bars from the CRZ and also transportation of sand.

“The Udupi district had issued 161 permits to remove sand bars from riverbeds of CRZs. Among these, the duration of 39 temporary permits issued to remove four sand bars in Kundapur taluk ended on March 29 and the same have been suspended. Meanwhile, 122 temporary permits given to remove 19 sand bars in Brahmavar taluk have validity till August 22. However, based on the directions of the NGT, the department of mines and geology has been asked to suspend the 122 permits,” said the Udupi deputy commissioner.

The DK deputy commissioner said that 14 sand bars were identified in rivers Nethravathi and Phalguni and 200 traditional sand extractors were identified for the clearing of sand bars and 148 temporary permits have been issued in the district so far.

Both the deputy commissioners have issued directions to clear all the boats and vehicles used for the extraction of sand and transportation of the sand from the riverside.

It may be recalled that the NGT on May 18 had ordered that the sand removed from sand bars of rivers in the CRZ should not be sold. At the most, it can be used for levelling low-lying areas of the river bed, sand nourishment in beaches and strengthening river bunds.

The NGT’s Southern Bench in Chennai had said that the state government’s practice of collecting a nominal amount from the permit holders and allowing them to sell sand outside amounts to mining sand which has been prohibited under the CRZ notification.

Meanwhile, the Dakshina Kannada deputy commissioner said that the district sand monitoring committee has given a work order to extract sand from the backwaters of Adyapadi dam in Phalguni river in Mangaluru taluk and Shambhur dam in Nethravathi river in Bantwal taluk to Karnataka State Mineral Corporation Limited (KSMCL).

The approval was given as per the Karnataka Minor Mineral Concession Rules 1994 (Amendment) 2021 and the new sand policy 2020, he said.

The sand extracted from these dams has been shifted to stockyards at Adyapadi and Shambur which will be distributed through a mineral dispatch permit issued by the KSMCL.

The public and contractors can avail of sand by paying Rs 700 plus GST per metric tonne through the Maralu Mitra app or website https://sand.karnataka.gov.in