Lok Sabha Question No. 414 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-11-17
Subject: Sand Mining
Ministry: WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT AND GANAGA REJUVENATION
Asked by: DHARAM VIRA GANDHI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  †414

ANSWERED ON 17.11.2016

## SAND MINING

## 414. SHRI DHARAM VIRA

Will  the  Minister  of  WATER  RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT AND GANGA REJUVENATION be pleased to state:

(a)  whether  the  guidelines  on  Sustainable  Sand  Mining  Management  issued  in  September  2015  have  been implemented in various States and Union Territories;

(b)  if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  sand  mining  activities  which  took  place  on  all  the  river  banks  in  the country during the last as well as current year, State-wise;

- (c) if not, the reasons therefor and the time by which they are likely to be implemented; and

(d) whether the Government proposes to introduce a new policy that seeks to bring sand mining under its own ambit in order to put an end to continuous violations of environmental norms and to penalise those who violate them, if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE  MINISTER  OF  STATE  FOR  WATER  RESOURCES,  RIVER  DEVELOPMENT  AND  GANGA REJUVENATION (DR. SANJEEV KUMAR BALYAN)

(a) to (c) The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF & CC) has formulated Sustainable Sand  Mining  Management  Guidelines  in  September,  2015  to  mitigate  the  environment  impact  of  mining activities. The Guidelines, inter-alia, emphasize identifying the areas suitable for mining (the site of aggradation) and areas not suitable for mining (sites near infrastructures and prone to erosion); monitoring plans to evaluate the long-term effect of the mining activities both upstream and downstream of sand extraction sites and streamlining the  process  of  impact  assessment,  environment  management  plan  and  environmental  clearance  in  cluster situation.

The MoEF & CC has so far given 156 clearances; State-wise breakup of the environmental clearances accorded by MoEF & CC since 2006 is at Annexure .  The MoEF & CC through its Regional Offices monitors the projects for compliance of environmental clearance conditions and also ensures the implementation.

The environment  clearances  are  also  issued  by  State  Environment  Impact  Assessment  Authorities  for  smaller leases from time to time. The responsibility for implementation of 'Guidelines for Sustainable Sand Mining in the Country' is mainly with the State Governments and the project proponents to whom the environment clearances are issued.

(d)  MoEF  &  CC  has  delegated  powers  to  grant  environment  clearance  to  District  Environment  Impact Assessment Authorities (DEIAA). The DEIAA headed by the District Magistrate has been empowered to regulate sand mining as per provisions of the notifications and Sustainable Sand Mining Guidelines, 2015.

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(Annexure  referred  to  in  reply  to  Parts  (a)  to  (c)  of  the  Unstarred  Question  No.414  to  be answered on 17.11.2016 in the Lok Sabha regarding 'Sand Mining')

| S.No.   | Project Details   |   No. of Environmental Clearances |
|---------|-------------------|-----------------------------------|
| 1.      | Andhra Pradesh    |                                 4 |
| 2.      | Haryana           |                                28 |
| 3.      | Uttar Pradesh     |                                29 |
| 4.      | Jharkhand         |                                 2 |
| 5.      | Rajasthan         |                                15 |
| 6.      | Gujarat           |                                 1 |
| 7.      | Himachal Pradesh  |                                11 |
| 8.      | Punjab            |                                27 |
| 9.      | Tamil Nadu        |                                 2 |
| 10.     | Uttarakhand       |                                32 |
| 11.     | West Bengal       |                                 3 |
| 12.     | Jammu &Kashmir    |                                 2 |
| 13.     | Bihar             |                                 1 |
|         | Total             |                               156 |

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