Saturday, Mar 19, 2005
Saturday, Mar 19, 2005 |
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Kochi
Anand Haridas
THE DISTRICT administration and the police are finding it hard to check illegal sand-mining from the Periyar, even as environmentalists allege foul play at every stage, from allotting passes for mining sand from the river to selling it. Even though there is no dearth of laws and court verdicts to check illegal sand-mining, the authorities are finding it hard to monitor the sand mafia. Environmentalists complain that this happens with the connivance of authorities. "Among the more than 50 kadavus (ghats) where sand-mining is permitted, laws are violated in 39. This includes resorting to the banned method of pole-scooping, which is done at six kadavus in Vazhakulam panchayat, three in Keezhumad and six Valakom. Also, there are five kadavus in Koovapadi, seven in Okkal, three in Kalady, five in Malayatoor, two in Valakara and one each in Perumbavoor and Kanjoor falling within the restricted distance of 500 metres of an irrigation project," said C.M. Joy, environmentalist. The district administration has already initiated some action. It withdrew passes issued to ghats in Vazhakulam panchayat following anomalies and is awaiting reports on those at Sreemoolanagaram and Keezhumad. "Panchayat secretaries have been asked to file affidavits and they will be held responsible for any flaw in monitoring sand-mining in their panchayats. The flaws in the system have developed over a period of time and cannot be corrected in a short period," said A.P.M. Mohammed Hanish, District Collector. The administration is also planning to evolve strict measures like restricting mining activities between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. and not allowing mining from ghats that do not have public access. "The fine for illegal sand-mining has also been hiked from Rs. 5,000-7,500 to Rs. 10,000-15,000 to increase the deterrent effect," said Mr. Hanish. In reality, these monitoring methods are proving quite ineffective. "According to rough estimates, 5,000 tonnes of sand is being extracted from the Periyar daily, whereas the officially permitted volume is less than 20 per cent of it. In many places like Kalady, sand-mining is going on round-the-clock, with people from outside the State involved in it. The police and authorities remain silent," said Prof. S. Seetharaman, environmentalist. More than an environmental issue, sand-mining is being treated as a social issue. The demand for sand in construction industry propels the activity to cross limits permitted by the law. Excessive mining from estuarial regions have resulted in more salinity incursion and acute shortage of drinking water. "Sand-mining in the Mangalapuzha, a tributary of the Periyar, stopped completely only after it was drained off all the sand. This could happen to the Periyar in a couple of years, if sand-mining is allowed to go unchecked," said Prof. Seetharaman. With a sustained demand in the market, the police are also finding it impossible to check violation of laws. "We have been conducting raids regularly, but it is impractical for us to post personnel at every ghat in the region. There are many ghats in every panchayats with many unmapped small roads leading to them," said M.N. Jayaprakash, Superintendent of Police (Rural). The police claim to confiscate about 10 to 20 trucks of illegally mined sand on an average daily. The most prevalent violation being misuse of passes issued by the respective panchayats. The district unit of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau has also reported an increase in complaints related to sand-mining. During this month, the department had conducted a couple of raids; during the one at Kottappuram bridge they found highly mechanised sand-mining in progress from a prohibited site.
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