Sand-mining banned in Idukki

The Kerala High Court has banned river sand-mining in Idukki district.Justice Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan issued an order in this regard on Thursday on a writ petition filed by Upputhara panchayat, Idukki. The panchayat approached the court seeking an order for the intervention of the Idukki District Collector and District Superintendent of Police for checking the illegal sand-mining from Thapasi Kadavu owned by it.Neither the government nor the Collector had issued any guidelines regarding sand-mining. Therefore, there could be no mining of river sand from any part of the river flowing through the district, particularly within the territory of the panchayat, the order said.The guidelines for sand-mining are issued on a year-to-year basis. Uniform regulatory directions may not be feasible for the entire State. In this case, the District Collector had not issued any directive for the regulation of sand-mining or for the sale of river sand for the current year, the order said.

The Collector and the District Superintendent of Police should ensure that there was no removal of sand from any of the rivers flowing within the territory of the Upputhara panchayat, particularly Thapasi Kadavu of the Periyar. This prohibition and enforcement would continue till the District Expert Committee on sand-mining considered the matter and issued guidelines providing for an appropriate regulatory mechanism for distribution of sand, the order said.The District Collector should ensure that the expert committee meeting was convened at the earliest keeping in mind the urgency of the situation, the court said.The local bodies are bound to supervise the sale and auction of sand from all Kadavus. It is expected to assist the Collector in confiscating the implement, tools and boats used for unauthorised removal of sand. Section 252 (1) of the Kerala Panchayat Raj rule provides that it shall be the duty of any police officer to assist the local body if its president or secretary demands in writing for such an assistance and it shall be lawful for the president or the secretary to require the intervention of the police, the court said. Refusal of any police officer or omission to perform such a duty is an offence punishable under the Section 41 of the Kerala Police Act 1960, the court said.

The Hindu, 30th October 2009