I don’t need Certificate from anyone, Sand Extraction will Resume Soon– DC Priyanka Mary

I don’t need Certificate from anyone, Sand Extraction will Resume Soon– DC Priyanka Mary

Udupi: “As deputy commissioner of Udupi district, I am aware of my responsibilities in order to provide sand to the people in the district. I am working on the orders of the Central and State Governments, and the courts in the issue of sand licenses and those who are making false allegations should be aware of the fact and figures”, said Priyanka Mary Francis deputy commissioner of Udupi District.

She was speaking at a press meet held at the DC court hall on Friday, October 12 evening. “We are issuing the sand license as per the guidelines of the Central and State Governments, and the court orders. Some people are circulating false messages against me of being mainly responsible for the sand problem in Udupi district. The allegations made by some people are totally far from the truth, I have more concern in providing sand to the people of my district. Meanwhile, we also need to follow the rules and regulations. I do not need a certificate from anyone in this matter. The people of the district have a soft corner but they are not foolish. Do not give them the wrong information through social media. We cannot take one-sided decisions on sand mining,” she said.

“In 2011 November 8 the union ministry of Environment and Forests had issued Notifications on the removal of sand in CRZ Zone areas of rivers through manual methods by traditional communities. The district commissioner should chair a seven-member committee consisting of, concerned officials and at least one representative from a scientific or technical Institute and the local communities like the fishermen and local civil society”.

The accumulation of sandbars, the process of removing sand etc., should be studied by the State Government with the help of satellite imageries, GPS etc. It should ensure that the permits are not accorded in such areas which are identified as eco-sensitive zones, fish migratory and breeding grounds etc. The permits should be given taking into consideration the local circumstances and ecological settings.

The National Green Tribunal’s guidelines will be adhered to while extracting sand in Udupi. Nine sand blocks had been identified in CRZ areas this year as against 28 blocks identified a year ago. Last year, 6,08,610 metric tonnes of sand was extracted and Rs 3.65 crore was paid as royalty to the government.

She said that a new CRZ map has been drafted by an expert team set up by the Ministry of Forest and Environment (MoEF) on September 27, 2018. The team had identified critical vulnerable areas in CRZ. The map forbids any sort of sand mining activities in entire Kundapur taluk, which also includes Byndoor, as it posed a threat to fish breeding, coral reefs and marine biodiversity.

The excess sand removed from the two blocks in Karkala would be used for the construction of houses for the poor under government schemes. The gram panchayats have also been told to inform the administration if they noticed excess sand in Non-CRZ areas.

As regard to the CRZ areas, stringent conditions laid down by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests for removal of sand is being followed meticulously so that it could stand the test of any legal scrutiny.

Many CRZ areas identified last year were dropped in the new CRZ map. Elaborating on the reasons for the delay in sand mining activities, the DC informed that at the first meeting held on August 8, fishermen were asked to identify sand blocks that posed threat for their fishing boats. MoEF’s regulations, dated June 9, 2011, allowed identification of sandbars posing a threat to the navigation of fishing vessels, but the fishermen had failed to submit details on sand blocks and later a committee was set up under the assistant commissioner to identify the sand bars.

“The team submitted the report on September 27, and this report was handed over to NITK in Surathkal to whet the report. Four sand blocks had been identified in the Non-CRZ area,” she said and added that the task force had been set up to inspect illegal sand mining in the district. the sand mining activities in the district will resume within a week after Karnataka Coastal Zone Management Authority (KCZMA) gave its approval to the proposal submitted by the district administration, she said.