Illegal sand mining has once again raised its ugly head this time in the Mandovi River with petitioners, the Goa River Sand Protectors Network, pointing before the High Court that at least ten instances and locations at which sand mining is taking place.
The report prompted some stern words from the High Court division bench that threatened to hold the Goa Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police personally accountable for failing to crack down on the menace if the petitioner's reports are to be believed that it continues unabated, despite a ban on mining in the present.
Following the High Court’s orders, the Director General of Police sprung into action and issued transfer orders of eight police inspectors -- including those whose jurisdiction covers villages falling on the banks of the River Mandovi like that of Old Goa, Mardol, Bicholim among others. The Police have also promptly booked cases of illegal sand mining in places like Santo Estevam, and Porascodem in Pernem.
What’s increasingly clear is that for as long as there is demand from the construction sector for sand there will be people willing to risk violating the law to help meet this demand and make some money along the way.
For there to be a lasting solution to the issue one of two things needs to happen -- demand needs to cease or there needs to be a way and means to help legally meet the demand.
With constructions being encouraged left, right and centre in the state, it is quite far-fetched to think that the demand for sand will reduce in the state -- on the contrary, it is only likely to grow. That leaves us with the other option of allowing the legal limited extraction of sand in places or rivers in the state where sand accumulates thus becoming a hindrance for navigation like that at the mouths of the rivers, etc.
Despite promising to act in that direction and to grant sand mining lease agreements very little has moved in that direction and hopeful leaseholders have been made to wait endlessly with no indication as to what, when and if the government decides to take forward the process.
There are certainly concerns about whether granting licences even with limits for sand mining will lead to a free-for-all all as the limits will be wilfully breached in the name of legal sand mining. The government needs to find a way and means to overcome the lethargy shown by its officials in cracking down on violations -- in this case environmental violations due to sand mining.
However, it is not sand mining alone. Environmental violations are present in every nook and corner of the state from illegal constructions to landfilling, hill cutting, encroachment of government, comunidade and private property all of which are continuing unabated with officials tasked with ensuring the law is enforced either claiming that they are overworked or claiming that they have not received complaints regarding the same.
One hopes that at least the High Court’s rebuke gets the state machinery to get its wheels moving and act with a sense of purpose and alacrity in order to preserve what’s left of Goa. It really should not be the job of citizens to keep knocking on the doors of the courts to prompt action against illegalities.
