Karnataka - Mysore   

Crackdown on illegal sand mining in district

Drawing ire: A file photo of sand being loaded on trucks. — PHOTO: M.A. SRIRAM

MYSORE: The district authorities will take strict action against those involved in illegal sand mining in T. Narsipur taluk and also against sand transporters for overloading trucks, thereby damaging the roads.

The elected representatives of the region have sought stern action by the Government against the erring people. At a meeting at the office of the Deputy Commissioner here on Wednesday, former Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and former Minister and T. Narsipur MLA H.C. Mahadevappa asked the district administration to chalk out a plan to deal with illegal sand mining and prevent the roads from being damaged. Officials from several departments attended the meeting.

Dr. Mahadevappa told The Hindu that the authorities had been asked to prevail upon the licensees to strictly comply with the terms and conditions for sand mining. He alleged that the licensees had been violating the guidelines by excavating sand from a depth of over five metres and during the night.

Although, the load bearing capacity of roads in the taluks is 16 tonnes, trucks were carrying 25 to 30 tonnes of sand, causing severe damage to them, he said. “The royalty which the Government gets from awarding licences for sand mining is about Rs. 10 crore, but the amount spent on the repair of roads has been huge. The revenue does not compensate for the loss, as the cost for laying a 1-km road is over Rs. 1.5 crore. Hence, a solution has to be found to prevent the damage to roads,” he said.

Dr. Mahadevappa sought the establishment of weighbridges at places where there was heavy movement of sand-laden trucks.

Deputy Commissioner P. Manivannan said a committee comprising officials from the departments of Revenue, Mines and Geology, Police, Transport and Public Works would be constituted to tackle illegal sand mining and prevent damage to the roads. The district administration had sought two weeks time to deal with the problem.

The meeting was told that there was shortage of staff in government departments, especially in Mines and Geology. This prevented a strict vigil from being kept around the banks of Cauvery and Kapila rivers to check illegal sand mining.

Meanwhile, the Union Ministry of Surface Transport has sanctioned Rs. 35.56 crore for the construction of a new bridge across Kapila river in T. Narsipur town. Dr. Mahadevappa said work on it would begin in two months.

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