Govt to allow extraction of sand on agricultural lands

The government will allow the extraction and sale of sand deposited in agricultural land due to the recent floods in several parts of Karnataka, Mines and Geology Minister C C Patil said on Tuesday.

Addressing a news conference, Patil said over 40 lakh tonnes of sand are estimated to be deposited in agricultural land adjoining river banks. “Farmers can utilise the sand for free for personal use. However, they will have to pay royalty if they want to sell it to a third party and will be penalised if sand is sold illegally,” he said.

Farmers will not be allowed to stock sand exceeding their personal requirement, he said. “The matter was brought to the notice of the chief minister. The government has not conducted a survey on the extent of sand deposits following
the floods, so the 40 lakh tonnes figure is just an estimate,” he said.

According to the minister, the government will come up with an ‘easy and people-friendly’ sand policy in the coming days. “A new people-friendly sand policy is on the anvil. We will study the policy implemented in Andhra Pradesh and take steps to ease the supply of sand in the next two to three months,” he said.

The current administration is not keen on importing sand from Malaysia, a move made by the previous Congress government. “Previously, Mysore Sales International Limited (MSIL) had imported sand. We have sought information on the unused sand imported from Malaysia,” Patil said.