Expedite mining permission for sand blocks, Siddu tells authority

Maqsood Maniyar | NT

Bengaluru / Udupi: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday directed the environmental assessment authority to clear sand mining projects in Udupi district.

He warned that there would be no tolerance for illegal mining and that processes would have to be followed, laying an emphasis on sand and red stone. The CM made the remarks at a meeting with relevant authorities.

It was attended by Udupi district in-charge minister Laxmi Hebbalkar as well. “Permission letter for sand blocks is issued only after the State Environmental Assessment Authority (SEAA) clears it. The delay is down to the monthly meeting of the authority. The process needs to be expedited,” Siddaramaiah told the SEAA commissioner.

Udupi Deputy Commissioner Vidya Kumari informed the CM that the process for issuing of contracts had already begun.

“As many as 39 sand blocks have been identified for issuance of contracts by way of tender cum auctions in non-CRZ (Coastal Regulation Zone) area. The tender process for nine of these blocks has already been completed successfully. The same would be carried out for the remaining 30 blocks,” she said.

Siddaramaiah said that there had been a requirement for eight lakh tonne of sand for construction purposes. He said that there had been a demand for red stone to not be ferried out of the district since local people used it for construction of their houses, adding that it was appropriate for the climate of the region.

“As many as 71 contracts have been awarded for laterite (red stone) mining for a period of one year,” Siddaramaiah said, adding that as per the new rules laterite operations were classified under bauxite mining.

The CM insisted that the mined laterite in question should only be utilized for intra-district use.