MANGALURU | Aug 16, 2016: As the monsoon ban on sand mining ended on Monday, Dakshina Kannada department of mines and geology is now gearing up to monitor illegal extraction and transportation of sand.
Since the sale of sand is restricted only to the local market catering to the construction industry of the region, all exit points on Kerala borders will be under CCTV surveillance.
Meanwhile, the district administration has also installed GPS to monitor the movement of sand trucks. As many as 427 contractors have been given the license to carry out sand mining in 38 sand blocks in CRZ (Coastal Regulation Zone) and non-CRZs of the district from Tuesday.
Department of mines and geology has made it mandatory for all license holders to abide by several conditions including ban on use of machineries for sand extraction and loading.
Additional deputy commissioner Kumar told TOI that licence holders should adhere to all conditions strictly while carrying out sand mining and transportation. "We have issued licence based on conditions that licence holders should comply with all regulations. We will not allow sand mining and transportation if conditions are violated by the licence holders. They should compulsorily install GPS in trucks that carry sand," Kumar said.
Meanwhile, officials of mines and geology are gearing up to tighten the monitoring exercise by installing CCTV cameras on all prominent spots, with options of transferring digital video recordings to city and district police units. Check points with CCTV surveillance have been opened at identified locations. Those check points will register the documents of vehicle and the sand licence. Nodal officers have been appointed for all sand bars in the district, an officer said.
The district has 680 acres of sand blocks in CRZ and non-CRZs. Sand mining was banned to facilitate breeding of aquatic life including various fish species during monsoon, from June 15 to August 15. The maximum permissible quantity of sand allowed for each licence holder is 250 loads per year, the officer added.
(Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/)