New Delhi, Aug. 10: A Union government panel has found evidence of rampant illegal mining along the Yamuna in Gautam Budh Nagar in Uttar Pradesh where the suspension of an IAS officer who had cracked down on the sand mafia has snowballed into a political controversy.

A three-member panel set up by the environment ministry said there has been “rampant, unscientific and illegal mining” at several sites along the river in violation of environmental regulations and Supreme Court directives.

The panel said sand mining at sites such as 151 acres at Chakbasantpur, 100 acres at Azgarpur Jagir and 156 acres at Raipur Khadar had taken place without approval from either the Union environment ministry, the state environment agency, or the state pollution control board.

The environment ministry had asked the panel to probe sand mining activities in Gautam Budh Nagar earlier this week after the Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to suspend Durga Shakti Nagpal, an IAS officer, who had challenged the sand mafia, triggered a political storm.

Nagpal, who has since been served a chargesheet, was suspended ostensibly because she ordered the demolition of a mosque’s boundary wall allegedly without following the due process.

The apex court had in an independent case ruled last year that persons or firms involved in mining in areas even less than five hectares would need environmental clearance from Union or state environment agencies.

The panel, whose report was released by the environment ministry today, has highlighted the need for state governments to identify stretches along rivers where mining permits may be granted and to deny permits in special zones near bridges or embankments.

The report has also stressed the need to conduct “annual replenishment” studies to determine whether the mining is sustainable based on the rate of natural replenishment of extracted sand and to stop mining when the rate is low.

The panel has also called for studies to understand the cumulative impact of sand mining with a focus on the pollution load because of transportation and to determine how mining may impact river ecosystem downstream.

The National Green Tribunal, the country’s apex environment tribunal, had earlier this week called for a ban on illegal sand mining amid concerns about mining without approvals along the banks of several rivers, including the Yamuna, Ganga, Chambal, Gomti and Revati.