In a detailed written statement to the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, Kirti Vardhan Singh, Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, addressed the regulation and environmental implications of sand mining in India.
Sand, classified as a minor mineral under Section 3(e) of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR Act), is subject to stringent regulation under the Act and the Mineral Concession Rules established by State Governments and Union Territory Administrations.
The Minister highlighted that sand mining operations are controlled by the MMDR Act, 1957, and its various provisions, including Section 23C, which empowers State Governments and Union Territories to enforce rules preventing illegal mining, transportation, and storage of minerals. This provision also ensures compliance with sustainable sand mining practices.
Effects of sand mining
Illegal sand mining, the Minister noted, causes significant environmental damage, including riverbed degradation, loss of aquatic habitats, increased water turbidity, depletion of water tables, soil erosion, flooding, and destruction of infrastructure. The broader ecological consequences include negative impacts on local ecosystems, reduced water quality, and disruption of the riverine ecological balance.
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Legal sand mining, in contrast, must adhere to strict extraction limits as prescribed by the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) and is granted Environmental Clearance based on the provisions of the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification S.O. 1533(E) dated September 14, 2006, and subsequent amendments. The extraction limits are determined by the State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) and approved by the SEIAA after careful scrutiny of each sand mining proposal.
This assessment considers factors such as water flow, river width, replenishing capacity, and the presence of public infrastructure, all in line with the Sustainable Sand Mining Guidelines, 2016, and the Enforcement and Monitoring Guidelines for Sand Mining, 2020.
Five-year reports
The Ministry has further mandated the preparation of District Survey Reports as a foundation for environmental clearance applications. These reports, updated every five years, are essential for the scientific, systematic, and environmentally friendly mining of minor minerals. The process was laid out in S.O. 3611(E) dated July 25, 2018, after thorough analysis and deliberation.
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To enhance the monitoring and enforcement of sand mining regulations, the Ministry has implemented aerial surveys, remote sensing, and GIS applications as stipulated in the Sustainable Sand Mining Management Guidelines 2016 and the Enforcement and Monitoring Guidelines for Sand Mining 2020. Additionally, the Ministry of Mines, in collaboration with the Indian Bureau of Mines and the Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG), has developed the Mining Surveillance System (MSS). This system leverages space technology to curb illegal mining activities across the country.
The Minister’s statement underscores the government’s commitment to sustainable and environmentally responsible sand mining practices, while also addressing the challenges posed by illegal mining activities.
