As per the new rules, sand in gram panchayat would be sold at Rs 300 per tonne, while the price of riverbed sand has been fixed at Rs 700 per tonne to be sold at urban, inter-districts and other areas
Representational image. PTI
Karnataka approved a new sand policy, which will regulate the cost of sand, and also empower panchayats.
Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister JC Madhuswamy announced on Monday that the state cabinet had approved the Karnataka Minor Minerals Concessions Rules, 2021 and through it fixed the price of sand at gram panchayat level at Rs 300 per tonne, riverbed sand to be sold at urban, inter-districts and other areas at Rs 700 per tonne.
“We have made it easy to procure sand in Karnataka,” Madhuswamy said in Bengaluru while announcing the new policy.
What the policy says
The government has identified 183 sand blocks in the state.
As per the new policy, at gram panchayats, the price of sand has been fixed at Rs 300 per metric tonne (MT), while sand extracted from river beds and supplied to urban areas will be priced at Rs 700 per MT. Mysuru Mines and Minerals Ltd and Hatti Gold Mines have been given the power to extract sand from river beds.
Additionally, the state will collect 50 percent of the royalty levied on sand. Of which, 25 percent will be given to panchayats.
The new policy has also mandated that a new body will be set up that will give permission for extracting sand and it will also act as the enforcement and monitoring agency.
The state also said that according to the new rules, gram panchayats will be allowed to supply sand at a discounted rate for rural housing projects, local community works and also for governmental construction works.
It also stated that traditional extraction of sand practised in coastal regulation zones will be permitted, but the use of machinery will be banned.
Sand mining in Karnataka
The new legislation is part of Karnataka’s effort to curb illegal sand mining. According to a Deccan Herald report of September, the state has seen over 10,000 such cases in the last three years.
According to government data, 3,451 cases were recorded in 2020-21, while the year before that saw 3,193 cases. In 2018-19, there were 3,869 cases were identified. The report further added that between January and August 2021, the state recorded 290 cases of illegal sand transportation and 35 cases of illegal sand mining.
Effects of illegal sand mining
The practice has resulted in a shortage of sand, which in turn impacts development works and the construction of houses.
Environmental experts opine that sand mining has had a devastating effect on the environment, such as floods and droughts.
Dr SG Mayya, former professor of Department of Applied Mechanics and Hydraulics at National Institute of Technology, Surathkal in an article published in The Federal said that excessive sand mining affects the natural course of the river which in turn leads to river erosion and flooding during monsoon.
“Depletion of sand in the river causes ecological imbalance. It affects the natural flow of the rivers resulting in excess run-off in quick time,” Mayya was quoted as saying.
Also, dredging up sand from the riverbeds affects the groundwater levels.
An official from the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management stated that the riverbeds act as aquifiers, storing a portion of the river water. “When this sand is removed or reduced through mining, summer flows in rivers decrease, affecting groundwater levels in borewells and wells on the banks,” he was quoted as saying in a Times of India report.
With inputs from agencies