However, in an attempt to seek relief from the ban, the state government has appointed senior mining engineer, Jaipur, BS Soda as the officer in-charge for initiating proceedings of legal aid to get exemption from the NGT. If the attempt fails, Rajasthan too will feature in the lists of states where sand mining is restricted.

"We have complied with the Supreme Court order of Feb 2012 regarding sand mining by drafting state law on the issue. The government has permission for sand mining till October 14, from the high court. The officer in charge will put up this case before the tribunal," said D S Maroo, director, mines and geology.

Of the 127 lease granted for sand mining in the state, tenders for 94 firms has been issued but no firm has got the mandatory clearance yet. "This is not a state specific case, it is applicable in the entire country. We can only present our facts, its up to the tribunal to decide," Maroo added.

The NGT had passed orders early this month on the plea filed by the National Green Tribunal Bar Association on sand mining in major rivers of Ganga, Yamuna, Chambal etc. The tribunal stated that majority of people removing minerals from the river bed had no license to extract sand.

Miners are required to obtain license from competent authorities depending upon the area of mining. The tribunal also stated that the order would be applicable across the nation as the petition raised substantial environmental issues. The clearance has to be obtained from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) or State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA). The Tribunal also directed all the mining officers and police officers concerned in all states to ensure compliance of its orders.

Supreme court order

The Supreme Court in February 2012 directed states to grant lease for mining of minor minerals including sand, gravel, clay, marble and other stones - even in a less than five hectares area only after getting environmental clearances from the Union ministry of environment and forests. Earlier, plots which were less than five hectares didn't needed any permission for mining. The Supreme Court also took into account the adverse effect of such activities on the biodiversity.

The state powers

As per environmental rules, the state government has the power to allow mining in an area of less than five hectares. For the above five hectares permission of the Union environment ministry is required. This provision has been manipulated by the state governments by breaking bigger mining areas into smaller than five hectare units to bypass the mandatory permission from the Union environment ministry.