Environment ministry team finds evidence of illegal sand mining in Gautam Buddh Nagar

The team is understood to have secured evidence to establish the fact that illegal sand mining is happening in Gautam Buddh Nagar.

NEW DELHI: The three member environment ministry team has found evidence of illegal sand mining in Gautam buddh nagar district of Uttar Pradesh. The report will be submitted to Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan on Monday. 

The committee, which was appointed on August 6, is headed by Saroj, a director in the ministry, the panel will comprise GC Meena, deputy collector of mines and in-charge of the Dehra Dun office of the Indian Bureau of Mines, and KK Garg, director of the Lucknow regional office of the environment ministry. The team is understood to have secured evidence to establish the fact that illegal sand mining is happening in the Uttar Pradesh district. The report brings to light incidents of ecological violations in the area. 

The move to set up an enquiry came in the wake of a public outcry over suspension of IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal, who as sub-divisional magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar had taken on the sand mafia operating in the district. Nagpal was suspended by the Uttar Pradesh government on July 27.
"The committee would look into the factual position with a view of suggesting the further course of action," a note prepared by the environment ministry said. 

Following up on the National Green Tribunal's order issued on Monday, the ministry made it clear that no sand mining can be taken up without prior environment clearance from either the ministry or the state environment agency. 

"No sand mining from any mining lease area can take place without obtaining prior environment clearance," the ministry said in its order setting up the probe panel. 

The ministry said following the Supreme Court's order of February 27, 2012 making environment clearance mandatory for all mining projects, all environment clearance requests for mining of minor minerals, including sand, with a lease area of up to 5 hectare was to be handled by the respective state environment impact assessment authorities. 

Before the court order, the state authorities were handling mining cases involving lease area between 5 and 50 hectare, while the ministry of environment only dealt with cases involving a lease area above 50 hectare.