BANGALORE: The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday expressed anguish over continued mining of sand from rivers by using mechanised boats and asked the State Government to put an end to such practices.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice P.D. Dinakaran and Justice V.G. Sabhahit passed the order on a petition by B. Raje Gowda. The petitioner said he was permitted to mine (excavate) sand in five acres from the Hemavathi riverbed at Varantha Kalahalli in Belthur, K.R. Pet in Mandya district. He said he was using mechanised boats to extract sand from within the riverbed.
He said that the State had, on March 31, 2009, issued a notice asking him to stop using boats to mine sand from the river. He said an official of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board had inspected the extraction site and said that only minimal damage is caused due to sand mining.
The Government said the senior geologist, Department of Mines, had asked the authorities to take action to ensure that mining by mechanised means is not permitted. The Bench, however, took to task the authorities for ignoring sand extraction by mechanised means. It said such extraction could change the course of the river asked the Government to take steps to halt sand mining on riverbed by mechanised means.
