Curb illegal sand mining in Sharavathi river: NGT tells Karnataka govt

​Bengaluru: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) and mines and geology department to stop any unlawful/illegal sand mining in Sharavathi river coastal zone.

The NGT’s southern zone bench of Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana and expert member Satyagopal Korlapati was hearing an application regarding damage caused to flora and fauna due to illegal sand mining.

The SEIAA submitted before the tribunal that no environment clearance was granted to any of the parties for sand mining on Sharavathi river in the coastal zone of Uttara Kannada district.

“The (department) is unable to say whether the transport dispatch permits granted by them relate to already excavated sand which is in the stockyard or it is for the freshly mined sand. Therefore, we make it clear that such operations cannot continue without approvals from appropriate authorities,” it said. 

The bench directed both wings of the government to inspect the areas and file a report by July 26.