To urge for exempting State from sand mining ban
TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: The government on Tuesday told the Goa Legislative Assembly that it will move the National Green Tribunal (NGT) next month, urging it to exempt Goa from the ban on the removal of sand from river beds.
“We have decided to represent before the NGT at the beginning of November to explain to them that sand mining is manually carried out in Goa. No heavy machinery is used as in the other States,” Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar told the House Tuesday.
Earlier, the Goa Legislative Assembly witnessed uproar over ban on sand mining imposed by an order from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) with legislators cutting across party lines insisting that the government approach the tribunal for relief in the wake of adverse impact on construction activities in the State.
Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar replying to a calling attention motion moved by BJP legislators, Michael Lobo (Calangute) and Pramod Sawant (Sankhali) that pointed out to the crisis in the construction industry due to scarcity of sand and other items like bricks and stones, agreed that the NGT order banning the extraction of sand in the country has hit the economy of the country.
Parrikar said, “Even our government projects here in Goa are getting affected,” taking a huge dig at the NGT for passing orders which he felt were not executable.
Parrikar said that the NGT passed its order directing deputy Collectors and superintendents of police to implement the same instead of asking the government to ensure that the activity is properly regulated.
Parrikar said that he is disturbed by the chaos that the NGT order has created stating that he is totally helpless. He said that there are some 70 or 80 cases before the NGT on various issues and the government will have to set up a department to deal with all such NGT matters.
Regarding the ban on sand mining, he pointed out that the government is fully aware of the hardships being faced by the common-man in undertaking even house repairs. He went a step further to say that the order of the NGT was creating a law and order problem as truckers were clashing over illegal sand coming into the State.
Parrikar said that Goa being small and law abiding was implementing the NGT order. Quizzed on how sand was still available for construction in Goa, Parrikar replied, “That is something the NGT should take a look at,” adding that despite the ban the same is not being implemented in other States where sand extraction and construction activities are on.
Earlier Lobo drew the attention of the House to two issues pertaining to the ban on sand mining which has resulted in shortage and a steep price rise, hitting the common man. His colleague Pramod Sawant sought to know how sand from neighbouring States was being imported into Goa.
Dabolim MLA Mauvin Godinho alleged that there was also a nexus with the RTO at the borders where truck loads of sand from outside the State were allowed entry. Parrikar told an agitated House that Goa has appealed to the NGT to vacate its order and provide relief for the State since extraction here is done manually and not mechanically as in other States.
The matter he said was to come up for hearing on November 1. While Parrikar said that he respected the law and the environment, he said, “The judiciary should not pass orders that cannot be implemented.”
He said that at times the NGT was going overboard by passing un-executable orders while some persons were making a business out of filing suits in the NGT.
He also told the House that two district committees have been constituted with respect to regulating sand extractions.
The north district committee, he said, has also identified certain zones in river Mandovi, Tiracol and Chapora where extraction could be permitted. So far 597 applications have been received from traditional sand extractors and are being forwarded to the North Goa District committee for necessary action.
