River Bed Mining
Why it Matters?
The Supreme Court upheld NGT’s order cancelling environmental clearance for sand mining in J&K’s Shaliganga Nallah, citing lack of a replenishment study. The Court ruled such studies mandatory to determine sustainable extraction limits and protect river ecosystems.
What You Should Know?
Sustainable Sand Mining Management Guidelines, 2016 (SSMG, 2016)
They aim to ensure scientific, sustainable, and environment-friendly sand mining.
The guidelines mandate preparation of District Survey Reports (DSRs) before mining approval.
The guidelines introduce concept of “annual rate of replenishment” for sand.
Recommends replenishment studies, monitoring, and use of IT-enabled systems.
Enforcement and Monitoring Guidelines for Sand Mining, 2020 (EMGSM, 2020)
They aim to strengthen enforcement and monitoring of sand mining.
They mandate drone surveillance, satellite imagery, and online tracking of sand transport.
Guidelines also propose barcode and QR-code based permits to check illegal mining.
States to carry out river audits, put detailed survey reports of all mining areas in the public domain.
Online sales and purchase of sand and other riverbed materials (RBM) for transparencyin the process.
No riverbed mining will be allowed during the monsoon.