Panaji | Oct 14, 2015: The Goa State Expert Appraisal Committee (GSEAC) has directed the District Collectors – North and South – to survey and map the sand extraction lease boundaries through Global Positioning System (GPS), to avoid unwarranted and unscientific extraction. While banning sand mining within 25 metres of buffer zones, GSEAC has granted prior environmental clearance (ECs) for a period of five years for extraction of sand in 26 identified clusters.
GSEAC has opined voluntary moratorium on worked-out-mining leases for a desire period in consultation with the Directorate of Mines and Geology (DMG).
GSEAC at its last meeting on sand mining made it mandatory to obtain the Consent to Establish and Consent to Operate from the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) under provisions of Water and Air Acts. The Collector has to ensure that sand mining activities along the identified clusters-cum-estuaries does not have a negative impact on the ecological integrity and equilibrium of the river.
The Goa Biodiversity Board (GBB) will have to undertake periodical inspections to study the ecological impact.
The committee headed by the district Collector has received over 1000-odd applications for sand mining to be undertaken through the manual method and is the process of scrutiny is still on.
In a series of specific and general conditions laid down, GSEAC has directed the lease holder to undertake adequate safeguard measures during sand extraction and limit the timings between sunrise and sunset. No sand extraction and allied activities be allowed during the monsoon.
“No removal/extraction be allowed/carried out within the buffer zone of 25 mts (at least) from both the banks within the proposed riverine/estuarine cluster to control and avoid riverbank erosion,” the conditions state.
The Collector has to also ensure and tackle the issue of excessive sand mining by the lease holders.
(Source: http://www.goacom.com/)