Sandstorm in the Desert
A court-ordered ban on sand mining puts the BJP government in a bind as sand/ gravel prices shoot up and the opposition alleges a nexus with miners
On May 4, the Supreme Court turned down the Vasundhara Raje government’s plea to relax its total ban on sand mining imposed in November last year. Justice M.B. Lokur reiterated that mining could be permitted only after a scientific assessment of the ecological impact and the rate of sand replenishment, deferring the case to July. A day earlier, the Rajasthan High Court directed all district collectors to set up special teams to prevent sand mining across the state.
Affecting more than a million livelihoods in the mining and construction sectors, the ban has become a major cause of unrest against the ruling BJP government in Rajasthan. It’s also impacting the public as sand and gravel prices have spiralled.
In 2012, the Supreme Court had ordered that sand be extracted as per a policy that mandates environmental clearance and issues leases for tracts large enough to enable adequate monitoring. The state, in 2013, allocated five-year mining rights to 82 bidders, netting Rs 460 crore against a reserve price of Rs 50 crore. The lessees were given time to get green clearances.
But despite repeated warnings from the high court and the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the state administration made no move on the apex court’s directive. It was only in 2015 that the 82 leaseholders submitted the environmental reports. But the Union environment and forests ministry issued only a dozen no-objection certificates, insisting that the miners commission sand replenishment studies for each lease.
Meghraj Singh, a prominent Jaipurbased sand miner, claims the state and central governments delayed clearances. “As a result, miners paid Rs 100 crore in excess (in penalties and advance royalty) of what they would have if the agreements had been executed in time,” he says, alleging that the state government removed 80 checkposts set up to prevent illegal mining.
Last year, the Supreme Court banned all mining and earlier this year, the high court questioned the government’s attempts to auction smaller plots for mining.
State Congress president Sachin Pilot alleges complicity between the state and central governments and the miners. “There’s a deliberate delay in granting environmental clearances only to patronise illegal mining,” he says. But the BJP blames the erstwhile Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government for bringing in a ‘flawed’ mining policy in 2013.
Aparna Arora, the state’s principal secretary in charge of mines, says the government has been trying hard to adhere to the Supreme Court’s guidelines and is exploring alternatives to sand so that people don’t suffer. So far, there is no resolution in sight.
THE SAND MINING BAN IS CAUSING MAJOR UNREST AGAINST THE RAJE GOVERNMENT