THANE | Feb 09, 2017: Putting an end to the reign of the sand mafia in the district and thereby attempting to abolish the illegal mining of sand in the creek, district collector Mahendra Kalyankar, on Tuesday, announced that anyone found excavating sand illegally henceforth will be penalised under the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act (MPDA).

While the district administration has not only carried out dozens of raids on such illegal activities over the past few years, but also collecting fines amounting to crores of rupees and destroyed hundreds of vehicles used in these illegal activities, the sand mafia continues to thrive in various parts of the Thane creek.

In the short eight month span between April and December 2016 itself, the department conducted as many as 115 raids on such illegal excavation activities in the Thane, Bhiwandi and Kalyan areas of the creek and seized sand brass and goods worth Rs 4.54 crore and Rs 23.24 crore respectively. They also registered 132 police complaints, most of which were against repeat offenders.

In an attempt to nip this destruction of the environment once and for all the collector has now brought these illegal activities under the MPDA Act.

"Illegal sand mining has been a massive issue for the district for years, as this sand mafia keeps coming back no matter how many times we fine them. The collector realised that only this stringent law can end this menace as it will empower officials to seize all the barges and tools instead of destroying them, and impose more stringent penalties on the culprits. This will also encourage those interested in sand mining to participate in the legal procedure of participating in an auction and receiving permission to excavate sand from certain permitted areas legally," said an official from the collector office.

(Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/)