Riverbed mining

RaTher than showing a decline, the trajectory of illegal mining of riverbed sand in Haryana seems to be going northward, with novel methods being employed. While unlawful quarrying of sand on panchayat land has been the norm, it has now come to light that owners of land located around Dohan and Krishnawati rivers in Mahendragarh district have been allowing sand to be illegally extracted from their property at lucrative rates of up to

Rs 20 lakh per acre. This trend of landowners having a piece of the pie is worrisome as it makes illegal mining all the more difficult to curb.

The rampant continuation of the banned activity is as much reflective of the audacity of the locals as of the authorities’ inability to prevent this open loot of a precious resource, or worse, their alleged complicity in this crime. Sand from riverbeds is being dug out without permits throughout the state. Flagging the threat to riverine biodiversity and the ecosystem of rivers, the National Green Tribunal had in July ordered the Haryana State Pollution Control Board to take action against officials who had failed to check unregulated sand mining along the Yamuna belt.

Such murky goings-on, smacking of a deep criminal nexus between the mining mafia, powerful politicians and unscrupulous officials, must be checked. Small players like tractor-trailer drivers who transport sand are being caught, but little effort is being made to net the big fish or hold government officials accountable for the incessant plunder. This laxity is unpardonable. At stake is the survival of the region’s flora and fauna, which are irreversibly shrinking.

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