MARGAO: Even as the destruction of Goa’s river ecosystems due to rampant illegal sand mining has become an issue of concern, the people, whose livelihood depend on extraction and transportation of sand, demand that the government issue guidelines for the sustainable mining of river sand, rather than completely ban the practice.
Goan sand miners, who claim to operate in an ethical manner, argue that sand is an essential commodity required for construction purposes, and that the State, blessed with an extensive network of rivers, has enough stock of sand.
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The experts at the Goa State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (GSEIAA) however beg to differ. In a recent explanatory affidavit, the GSEIAA had stated that sustainable river sand mining was not possible in Goa, due to the fact that the average distance from the origin of a river, to the sea, was only 25 kms or less—too short a distance to produce enough sand. As a result, the sustainable sand mining guidelines that were framed for larger river basins in other parts of India, cannot be applied to Goa.
In a series of reports on the impact of illegal sand extraction in the State, Herald has highlighted how the sand mafia has decimated entire ecosystems and left villages in Salcete and Pernem in danger of flooding.
Further, in defiance of the High Court order, there is no 24×7 police protection at the dozen or so mining hotspots identified, where sand dumping and loading takes place, except for a site at Curtorim.
Rui Menezes, a resident of Curtorim, told Herald that he is also against the extraction of sand using suction pumps, but that the traditional and manual methods of sand extraction should be allowed.
Admitting that he is involved in sand transportation activities, Menezes denied his involvement in sand extraction by suction pumps.
“There is a lot of stock of sand in the Goan rivers, and with sand being one of the necessities for construction activities, the government should come up with a plan to allow sand extraction, by regulating it with guidelines. They cannot just ban sand extraction,” he argued.
He urged the government to frame these guidelines to prevent any damage to the bundhs due to the sand mining.
“For example, sand extraction should only be allowed over 50m away from the bundhs. The government should also issue restrictions on the timing allowed for transportation of sand, so residents of these villages are not disturbed,” said Menezes, who claimed that nobody in his part of Salcete was using suction pumps to extract sand.
“Most sand miners only extract sand manually and later, they clean the sand using the pumps,” said Menezes.
“Many locals are involved in the illegal extraction of sand because the government is not ready to issue permissions or guidelines to carry out the occupation legally. The authorities could issue canoe licences for sand extraction, to ensure that these people can earn a livelihood,” argued Menezes.
