Opinion | Illegal Sand Mining

Sand is a natural resource that God has bestowed to us. Sand is a granular material which is composed of finely divided rock and minerals. Illegal sand mining is extraction of sand from rivers, streams and lakes etc without any legal license or government permission. Today sand becomes very important because it is used in all kinds of construction activities e.g . It is used in making bricks, concrete, plastering, roofing, mortals, paint, roads and petroleum. It is also used in liquid form to manufacture glass. But people in the current era have become materialistic. They only think about their own benefits without taking care of others. As we know in present times illegal sand mining is done everywhere because it gives benefit to materialistic people but its impacts are vast. Sand mining is eroding rivers and coastlines, disrupting ecosystems and it also hurts livelihood.

According to the United Nations Environment programme India ranks second after China in the list of critical hotspots for sand extraction. About 50 billion tons extracted from lakes, riverbeds and coastlines.

Impacts of illegal sand mining:

Excess of sand mining can erode banks and lead flooding and it also lowers the concentration of sand. Excess of sand mining is also a threat to bridges and it also affects groundwater systems, shrinks river banks and it also destroys the water quality.

These destructive effects of excessive sand mining lead to loss of fertile land. It also affects science, beauty, climate and damages infrastructure.

Impacts on Environment

Sand mining is the biggest threat to the living organisms which include aquatic animals. The ecological sand mining areas are getting unstable as it destroys the beauty of such areas. It disturbs wildlife living in ecosystems.

It leads to loss of biodiversity. Biodiversity is the variation among living organisms on the earth. Each species has a unique value in maintaining ecological balance. Loss of species will create an ecological imbalance.

Sand mining in sea beaches results in the loss of nesting sites of some organisms like turtles and crocodiles. As a result these organisms find it difficult to lay their eggs and therefore their population goes on decreasing.

The ill effects of sand mining are not limited to only these organisms, dwelling near sea beaches have also a heavy impact on the organisms living in fresh water bodies. Mining of sand at large scale using excavators increases turbidity of the surrounding water. As a result light does not properly penetrate in the ecological pyramid of the required light for photosynthesis.

Moreover excessive sand extraction from the rivers interferes with the breeding activities of the fishes and thus decreasing their population. One of the major negative impacts of excessive sand extraction is the change in the course of the rivers. Illegal sand mining forces the rivers to change their path as a result many areas become vulnerable to serve floods. When boulders and sand are removed excessively from the rivers in an unscientific and illegal way, the speed of water in these rivers increases with this the erosion capacity of the river increases. Boulders and sand act as buffers between moving river water and river bed.

Excessive sand extraction creates big ditches and pits. This has caused the decline in the ground water table in the surrounding areas. Sand in the river beds holds a lot of water and contains water even during dry summer. Illegal sand mining has already pushed many rivers to the verge of drying up forever. Sand is an important source for groundwater discharge. It also acts as a link between the flowing river and water table.

Social Impact

The main reason for illegal sand mining is unholy nexus between politicians and sand mafias with the support of some politicians; many checking officials are being mishandled, threatened and even murdered.

Effects on Health   

Moreover sand mining affects human health as well, which inturn increases the rate of mortality  cases . In general it has infinite bad effects both economically as well as socially . In order to get rid of these bad effects of sand mining we have to use it merely to follow the rules given by the government.

Information at Ground Level

As I have talked to so many people who are doing this sand mining I get several responses from them. According to them they get both benefits and losses from this.

1. According to these people the major problem in our country is unemployment. This problem gets solved when they do this sand mining. It creates a job opportunity for them.
2. It increases their standard of living.
3. They don’t have to pay tax to the government. But by doing illegal Sand Mining many poor people lose their lives because it is mostly done by poor people because of their financial problems. So they lost their lives.

 Some important Acts 

Illegal sand mining in India is defined under section 3€ of mines and mineral development and regulation Act, 1957 (MMDR Act.). This law has been implemented by the Government to prevent illegal sand Mining.

Besides section 23e of MMDR ACT 1957 empowers State Governments to frame rules to prevent illegal mining and the state Governments may , by notification in the official Gazette make such rules for preventing illegal mining transportation and storage of minerals.

As per Union Ministry of Mines, sand is 4th important minor mineral in terms of production after road metals, building stone and brick earth and at the same time the Government does not collect data on the volume of illegal Sand Mining and it is the Supreme Court of India which has been taking cognizance of the illegal sand mining in various parts of the country from time to time. Recently while hearing a plea the Supreme Court said compensation or penalty to be paid by the indulging in illegal sand mining can’t be restricted to the value of illegally mined minerals. The court assigned that as per polluter pays principle the absolute penalty for harming the environment extends not only to compensate the victims of pollution but also the cost of restoring the environment degradation.

In short, we need to extract sand from rivers sustainably. We have to keep in mind the needs of future generations also. If we extract sand from rivers excessively then we leave nothing for future generations because its concentration will decrease. It is a natural resource we need to conserve and prevent.

– The author is a student of Economics at Islamic University of Science and Technology