Mangalore caught in ‘sand storm'

The new Uniform Sand Mining Policy of the Karnataka Government, which does not allow sand mining in Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) area and prohibits the use of machineries to mine sand from river, has stirred a hornet's nest in Dakshina Karnataka.

In a recent Karnataka Development Programme Review Committee meeting, the Dakshina Kannada district in-charge Minister, Mr Krishna Palemar, and several other elected representatives expressed concern over the strict implementation of the government order on sand mining. Similar concerns are being expressed by other stakeholders such as civil engineers and builders among others.

Speaking to Business Line , Mr P.M.A. Razak, Secretary of the Mangalore branch of Credai (Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India), said that the new policy has reduced the momentum of construction in Mangalore. The price of the sand has gone up3.5 times since the order came into effect on April 1. He said the end-user will be the most hit with such developments.

Mr Vijay Mayya, a civil engineer from Mangalore, said that traditionally people in the district use manual method of removing sand from river. He said he is not in support of using machines for removing sand from rivers as it would affect the living creatures and other micro organisms in water. But the CRZ rules have affected traditional mining by manual mode, he said.

Participating in the Karnataka Development Programme Review Committee meeting, the MLAs from the district, Mr U.T. Khader and Mr K. Abhayachandra Jain, and the MLC, Mr K. Srinivasa Poojary, urged the district administration not to enforce the law pertaining to sand mining strictly. Their demand was that if the law is implemented strictly, common people would find it difficult to buy sand for construction activities.

For this, the Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner, Mr Subodh Yadav, had said that he could not remain silent when provisions of the law pertaining to sand mining are violated.

Mr Razak said that the construction industry in Mangalore is affected the most. “We are doing projects in Bangalore, and we don't have any problem there,” he said. Stating that Dakshina Kannada has a different topography, he said the rule should have been in tune with its topography.

He said that materials such as sand form the core sector of the construction industry, a sector that offers huge employment opportunities. He requested the Government to give ample time for stakeholders whenever it plans something related to construction sector.

Mr Mayya said that many sectors are dependent on construction industry for their survival. However, while addressing the Karnataka Development Programme Review Committee meeting, Mr Palemar had said that the Uniform Sand Mining Policy had authorised the Public Works Department to extract sand with effect from April 1. He had assured the meeting that it would not be implemented in the coastal region for 45 days.

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