Letter to Sri Jairam Ramesh regarding mechanised sand mining (Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan- 04 March 2010)

To,


Sri Jairam Ramesh,
Hon’ble Union Minister of State (Independent Charge)
Ministry of Environment and Forests
Lodi Road
New Delhi

Dear Sir,

Greetings from Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan

Sir, Hamirpur in UP is a relatively obscure district headquarter town nestled between river Yamuna and river Betwa. It lies 65 Km south of Kanpur city on NH 86. It is also one of the 14 sites at which we are engaged in setting up ‘Nadi Mitra Mandali’ (Friends of the River) consisting of local people, interested in safeguarding their life line river/s.

A recent visit to the project villages has revealed not just over whelming support for the two rivers amongst the local people but also an ugly picture of the ongoing river bed devastation of river Betwa in form of mechanised sand mining that reportedly results in removal of truck loads of river sand in excess of 1000 trucks per day. One can well imagine the fate of the river in the face of such mindless mining and transportation activity. And not just the river bed, it is also the hapless villagers who are faced with a constant barrage of empty and loaded trucks plying day in day out on their dusty village roads. To top it, imagine as a result, the state of the so called National Highway, on which it took us three and a half hours to cover the 65 km to Kanpur.

It is a little appreciated tragedy that despite critical ecological role of sand in a river system (kindly peruse the enclosed summary of an article), river sand has been included amongst minor metals whose mining (courtesy the Mining Department) is seen as of little consequence for the river and used only as a revenue earner for the state’s exchequer.

While admittedly sand removal (if carried out manually and in a controlled manner) from river beds and flood plains could be seen to be a sustainable economic activity for local people post every monsoon, its devastating effects when indulged in an unbridled manner (as highlighted in the enclosed pictorial report) requires urgent attention and regulation.

Accordingly we suggest, if we may, that please consider inclusion of mechanised sand mining from river beds as one of the activity requiring prior environmental clearance from the MOEF under the EIA Notification, 2006.

We hope that our suggestion would merit requisite attention at your end.

Warm regards,

Manoj Misra
Convener