DECKS CLEARED…
“The members (SEAC) decided to recommend the extraction of sand by the traditional method with 50 and 10 per cent respectively to be extracted annually, subject to the compliance of the environment management plan and monitoring plan recommended by NIO as well as the guidelines for sustainable sand mining,”
Minutes of SEAC meeting.
Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) has finally permitted sand mining activities but only through the manual method, along four stretches of River Chapora.
However, the SEAC has come out with the condition that 1/4th of the river area should be declared as no mining zone for the protection of the bank.
“The members (SEAC) decided to recommend the extraction of sand by the traditional method with 50 and 10 per cent respectively to be extracted annually, subject to the compliance of the environment management plan and monitoring plan recommended by NIO as well as the guidelines for sustainable sand mining,” state the minutes of meetings.
The Mandovi, Tiracal and Chapora rivers were mainly seen bearing the adverse impact of unsustainable excavation. Amid the worsening scenario, the riverbank communities and civil societies have been making remarkable efforts to protect the rivers in the state.
Goa has been dependent on other States for the export of sand. The non-grant of permits also gave rise to large scale rampant illegal sand extraction.
The Directorate of Mines and Geology (DMG) had not renewed or granted sand mining permits for the last three seasons- 2018, 2019 and 2020, after an NGO approached the High Court of Bombay at Goa seeking restrictions on the number of sand mining permits.