NOIDA: In a first for any state, the Haryana government has made public its losses on account of illegal sand mining. In a report submitted to the National Green Tribunal on Tuesday, the government has stated that illegal mining of over 60,000 metric tonnes sand on a land belonging to the Indian Air Force, near Gautam Budh Nagar-Faridabad border, has cost the state exchequer more than Rs 1.4 crore.
The tribunal had sought a report from Haryana after the two districts filed separate petitions, in which activists have alleged that unscientific sand mining has degraded the region's ecology.
The IAF informed the NGT that it has made several complaints about the illegal activity in the region to police of both the districts, about which both Haryana and UP governments claimed ignorance. The UP government though has informed the tribunal of having seized 34 vehicles carrying illegally mined sand recently.
The principal bench of the tribunal, headed by chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar, consequently has given four weeks to both the state governments to come up with suggestions to help prevent illegal mining in the region and restore environment.
