Chennai: National Green Tribunal (NGT) panel consisting of senior government officials check the mouth of the river near Napier Bridge on Thursday in connection with illegal sand mining cases.
K R Selvaraj Kumar from the local fishermen association approaches the South Zone NGT who accused that illegal sea sand mining occurred at the location, which eventually reached Bengal Bay.
These environmental sensitive zones (coastal setting zones are categorized as 1A and 1B), where sand mining is prohibited under CRZ 2011 notifications and 2019.
Referring to news reports, Kumar said that the excavation of sea sand was happening during hours, especially between midnight and 2 Morning using a heavy machine.
The news report stated that five tipper trucks entered a narrow lane adjacent to the Anna Square bus standing one by one, to bring the sand out.
He further accused the application that sea sand which was mined illegally mixed with river sand and used for construction activities.
“This happens near government offices and there are no effective steps taken to prevent this.
It is very necessary to track the end of the sand users mined illegally,” he said.
Based on this, members of NGT SZ Justice K Ramakrishnan and K Satyagopal are joint committees consisting of Chennai collectors and senior officers from Chennai City Police, Coastal Zone Management Authorities (CZMA), Public Works Department, and Public Works Department.
This committee has been directed to check the site and submit their report before the next hearing is scheduled on Thursday.
“We have been given the task of knowing whether illegal sand mining has occurred or if the government has allowed dredging activities in the area,” Panel members said, requested anonymity.
When asked if they pay attention to ecological damage, members refused to share more detail because this problem was waiting before the court.
The committee was also asked to suggest a permanent mechanism to prevent illegality.