03 Dec 2022  |   06:25am IST

Govt streamlines traditional sand mining activities in State

NIO identifies 13 regions - eight along River Mandovi and five along the River Zuari estuary for manual sand extraction

Team Herald

PANJIM: The State government has put in place several measures to control sand mining activities including capping the extraction to 1,000 cubic meters of sand per licence holder annually while banning mechanized activities.

The Directorate of Mines and Geology (DMG) on Friday notified the amendment to the Goa Minor Mineral Concession Rules to streamline the process of traditional sand mining through manual extraction method. 

The National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) has identified 13 regions- eight along River Mandovi and five along the River Zuari estuary, covering a total area of 67.45 hectares, as feasible sand mining sites. 

As per the notification, the license holder will be allowed to extract upto 1,000 cubic meters of sand annually from the zones demarcated by the Government. 

Also, the sand extraction activities are permitted only between 6 am and 6 pm everyday. 

The notification also specifies that mechanized extraction will not be permitted and all tools, equipment and machinery of anyone violating this condition would be seized. 

“No sand extracted, stacked or stored shall be transported or traded unless royalty on the same is paid to the Government and transport permit is issued,” the notification said.

As per the notification “traditional sand extractor” means a person who belongs to a local community in the State, whose livelihood is dependent solely on extraction of sand by manual means will be granted license.

The DMG has also said that those operators who were granted licence for extraction of ordinary sand during the period from February 21, 1974, to December 31, 2010, including the person’s legal heir would be eligible. 

In addition any person who is born and whose birth is registered, in the State, and whose either of parents or grandparents are born in Goa and who is residing in Goa at least for a period of fifteen years is permitted to make an application for grant of permission for sand extraction. 

Mines Director Suresh Shanbhogue had earlier specified that 70 per cent traditional sand miners and 30 per cent fresh applicants will be permitted to carry out sand mining in the state. 

DMG had not renewed or granted sand mining permits for the last three seasons – 2018, 2019 and 2020 and 2021– after an NGO had approached the High Court of Bombay at Goa seeking restrictions on the number of sand mining permits. With DMG not granting permits, illegal sand mining was rampant across State ever since 2018.