Managing director C Ravishankar of GMVN told TOI, "Mining is just one of many business activities we do in the Garhwal region. After we get permission from the Union ministry of environment and forests, sites could be sub-let for mining to private individuals, in accordance with the rules and procedures laid down."

TOI has learnt that over 55 mining projects have been submitted by state government to the Union ministry of environment for clearance, to pave the way for GMVN to begin these operations.

Sand mining in the Garhwal region is a multi-crore business. Illegal mining is rampant in the area. Under recent orders from the National Green Tribunal, the state government had banned mining activities in Haridwar. The majority of permissions for mining now are in the Vikas Nagar areas of Dehradun district.

GMVN sources told TOI that sand mining could help revive the sagging fortunes of the department. Activists who oppose the mining of sand, which, when conducted without proper supervision, could have a deleterious impact on the environment, are dismayed by the state government's focus on developing sites for such mining.

Swami Shivanand of Haridwar's Matri Sadan, an ascetic who has led the campaign against the rampant illegal mining of sand in Haridwar, said, "People of Vikas Nagar must launch an agitation against sand mining, both legal and illegal."

The ascetic had been on a fast-to-death to protest sand mining in Haridwar in March and April this year.

"Those in favour of the mining say it is necessary for the health of the river; that silt deposits have to be removed. That argument is flawed. Rivers have been flowing for centuries, from the hills to the plains, maintaining the natural equilibrium and purity. All this while, there were no sand contractors," Shivanand said