PUNE | March 24, 2015: The ministry of environment, forests and climate change will use satellite images to map every river in the country in a bid to check illegal sand mining, Union minister of state Prakash Javadekar said here on Monday.

"The technology is available with Indian Space Research Organisation. We are organizing a workshop in Delhi where we will provide details about a plan that will use satellite maps of every river to check the activities of the sand mafia," Javadekar told reporters on the sidelines of a 'janata darbar' which he conducted during the day.

Javadekar said officials of the revenue department (which oversees sand mining) from all states will attend the March 27 workshop. Each state will accordingly prepare its own plan based on the satellite images, he added.

Javadekar said the ministry will also soon roll out an initiative that will enable companies, as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, contribute to the conservation of certain animal and bird species that are on the brink of extinction.

Javadekar said 17 species have been identified, including the snow leopard, the Great Indian Bustard and vultures. A company can offer to take efforts for their conservation by setting up parks, conserving the eco-system that sustains the species or, in the case of birds, setting up hatcheries, he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the national conference of environment and forest ministers from all states next month, Javadekar said.

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