PANAJI
The Bombay High Court at Goa has slammed the Goa Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police for failing to crack down on illegal sand mining thus rendering their assurances given to the High Court as mere “paper assurances.”
When the contempt petition filed by the Goa Sand Protectors Network came before the High Court, Adv Norma Alvares on behalf of the High Court placed before the Court photographs and videos to prove that there are at least ten locations where sand mining is continued unabated in the Mandovi River.
“From the list and the photographs produced. Ms Alvares is justified in submitting that illegal sand mining at a substantial scale is back. The photographs only refer to canoes in the river extracting sand without any permission from any authorities. This, according to us, appears to be only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. The activities, as we have noted in our earlier orders, involve several labourers, transporters, and transportation by trucks,” the High Court bench of Justices M S Sonak and Valmiki Sa Menezes observed.
“It is difficult to accept that those in charge of these police stations are unaware of this large-scale activity involving several labourers, trucks, canoes, etc. Neither the Chief Secretary nor the DGP thinks it appropriate to change the police personnel at these police stations or to act against those in charge of these police stations. In the past, affidavits have been filed before us by police officials stating that when they went to the sites, they found nothing,” the High Court noted.
Considering the material placed before us, we get the impression that neither the DGP nor the Chief Secretary is seriously interested in preventing illegal sand mining in the State of Goa. This is not a question of simply disobeying the orders made by this Court from time to time, but this is a question of protecting Goa’s natural resources.
“What surprises and anguishes us is that the authorities who are duty-bound to stop this activity pretend that they do not even see these activities going on. In this matter itself, the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police have filed affidavits before us, assuring us of strict action. We are sorry to say that, at least prima facie, these assurances have remained paper assurances, the High Court noted.
“It is extremely difficult to believe that police or other executive authorities are not aware or cannot see this large scale of sand mining which has now surfaced.
The High Court has now directed the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police to file a detailed action plan failing which they will be asked to personally remain present in Court to answer for their failure to curb the menace.
“The Chief Secretary and the DGP should file before us a detailed action plan by 12.12.2023. In the action plan, the Chief Secretary and DGP should indicate the names and details of police officials, Deputy Collectors, and Nodal Officers who will be responsible in the Talukas of Bicholim, Ponda, Tiswadi and Pernem. The action plan will also give us details about rigid inflatable boats and unmanned aerial vehicles as referred to by the DGP in his affidavit dated 17.04 2023,” the High Court said.
“The DGP should also file an affidavit before us about whether any inquiry will be held against the police officials in charge of police stations where such large-scale sand mining has surfaced,” the bench also said.
