Mangaluru | Apr 08, 2015: Deputy Commissioner A.B. Ibrahim on Tuesday issued a series of guidelines to different departments, including the Mines and Geology, to regulate sand extraction and transportation in the district.
Chairing a district level task force committee meeting in this regard here, the DC said the authorities —police, transport, revenue and mines and geology — should not allow sand transportation by multi-axle goods vehicles. Sand transportation by heavier vehicles is bound to extensively damage the roads in the district, including the Ghat roads at Charmadi and Sampaje, he said.
At the same time, the maximum permissible load per truck should be restricted to 2.5 cubic meters or 10 tonnes, Mr. Ibrahim said. He asked the mines and geology department to install weigh-bridges at four or five vantage locations in the district to cross check the claims by the transporters.
Mr. Ibrahim also asked the department to install closed circuit television cameras at check posts — Talapady, Surathkal, Charmadi and Sampaje — to monitor movement of sand-laden trucks. A committee comprising representatives from local gram panchayats, revenue and police departments should regularly watch the footage and report violations if any to the district administration, he said.
He asked the department to strictly enforce ban on mechanised sand extraction in the district. The department should seize equipment used for such extraction, he said. At the same time, only three boats should be allowed for extracting and filling sand on a truck for one permit, instead of the present practice of allowing more than 10 boats. Permit issued for a truck should be valid only for 24 hours, instead of the present validity of up to 72 hours, to prevent misuse of the permit for multiple trips.
Reacting to allegations of ready-mix concrete vehicles ‘smuggling’ sand to neighbouring states in the guise of transporting concrete, Mr. Ibrahim said all the departments should keep a tab on movement of such vehicles and seize them if they are found to be transporting sand.
Officials from different departments attended the meeting.
Monitoring sand extraction and movement
Multi-axle vehicles cannot be deployed for sand transportation
Maximum load to be restricted to 10 tonnes per vehicle
Mechanised sand extraction to be curbed, equipment to be seized
CCTV cameras to be installed at four check posts
Sand transportation permit for a vehicle to be valid for just 24 hours
Ready-mix concrete vehicles crossing state-border to be checked for alleged sand transportation
(Source: http://seeandsaynews.in/)