Anomalies Reported in Sand Mining and Transport on Godavari Riverbed

Vijayawada:Several anomalies have been reported in sand mining and transport on the Godavari riverbed in East Godavari district, which contribute nearly 50 per cent of the state’s sand demand and cater to construction needs in Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli, Kakinada, Bhimavaram, Eluru and parts of Telangana.

An average of 15,000 metric tonnes of sand is produced daily at nearly 40 sand points in East Godavari district, against about 30,000mt across the state.

The reported lapses include the use of semi-mechanised sand-sucking boats on the river bed despite norms requiring manual mining, overloading of tipper trucks, failure to cover sand loads with green mats, unauthorised transport and dumping of sand in large mounds at several places.

The water resources department fixes the coordinates and quantity of sand to be mined at sand points as part of the desiltation of the river bed near the Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage. The exercise is intended to help ensure storage of three tmc-ft of water and make sand available for construction works. The Pollution Control Board has also granted permission with conditions to prevent violations of environmental norms.

However, there is no proper mechanism to monitor sand mining, according to the report. Though boatmen’s societies have been permitted to mine sand manually as per norms, semi-mechanised boats are being used to suck sand from the river bed.

Former YSRC MP Margani Bharat recently approached the National Green Tribunal seeking its intervention over alleged violations of sand-mining norms in the Godavari river through the use of machinery.

A large number of tipper trucks move from sand points along the Godavari river course to various destinations. Some vehicles carry uncovered loads, resulting in sand spilling along the routes. The sand dust affects two-wheeler riders and falls on the front windshields of cars, with commuters reporting damage and two-wheeler riders complaining of skidding on roads covered with spilled sand.

A medical shop owner said, “My shop gets filled with sand dust despite being covered with glass doors and I have to frequently dust the racks filled up with medicines before selling them.”

Under the state government’s free sand policy, no seigniorage is collected from sand mining, affecting a source of income for gram panchayats and local bodies. This has also affected repairs to roads damaged by the movement of heavy vehicles, according to the report.

East Godavari district’s mines and geology officer Phani Bushan Reddy said, “We have taken up a pilot project to fix AI integrated ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) cameras at Gayatri sand point at Dowleswaram which will help to monitor mainly overloading of vehicles, their registration numbers, covering with green mat and e-bills so that some violations will be curbed and we will extend to all other sand points based on feasibility.”

A 20-tonne load of sand is currently available for ` 7,500, against the highest price of Rs. 27,000 in 2024

Semi-mechanised boats are allegedly being used to suck sand from the river bed in the middle of the river, where officials may face difficulty in reaching them

 The pollution control board, road transport department, police, water resources department etc are responsible for monitoring illegal sand quarrying and its transport