New Delhi | Jan 18, 2015: Noting that the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has been dealing with the mining of minor minerals, including sand, on an “ad-hoc basis”, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed it to come up with a “comprehensive” notification relating to “all minor mineral activity on the riverbed or otherwise, to avoid unnecessary confusion, ambiguities and practical difficulties in the implementation of the environmental laws”.

The NGT bench, headed by tribunal chairperson justice Swatanter Kumar, also said that, in the meanwhile, “no state shall permit carrying on of sand mining or minor mineral extraction on riverbed” without the concerned person obtaining environmental clearance.

The tribunal, in its 13 January judgement, also directed the MoEF to formulate a “uniform cluster policy in consultation with the states for permitting minor mineral mining activity, including its regulatory regime”.

The tribunal directed the secretary of the MoEF to hold a meeting with the governments of Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka to bring complete uniformity in the process.

(Source: http://www.livemint.com/)