HC sets up State Level monitoring panel for sand quarrying

Chennai,Feb18(PTI) The Madurai Bench of the Madras HighCourt today constituted a State Level Monitoring committee forriver sand and other sand quarrying,which will be headed by aretired judge.

The other members of the Committee headed by JusticeE.Padmanabhan are an Environmentalist, Geologist and anadministrative officer.

Delivering the order, a Division Bench,comprising JusticeR.Banumathi and Justice S.Nagamuthu, also directed theDistrict Collector to send consolidated weekly reports to theGovernment, Industries and Public works Department every weekfor monitoring and that it should be sent to the MonitoringLevel Committee also.

Following a batch of writ petitions against sand mininglast year,the High Court had imposed blanket ban on quarryingin Tamiraparani River and banned use of machineries in otherrivers.

The Bench, while hearing the state Government''s reviewpetition on December 2 last, had said no machinery should beused for quarrying sand from river beds except with permissionof the secretary to Government, Industries Department or anyother authority or officer as might be authorized by him inthat behalf who might grant such permission, if use of suchmachinery would not be detrimental to ecology.

The review petition was with regard to relaxing its blanketban on use of machinery.

It was further directed that not more than two ''poclain''excavators could be used for each quarry site for sandquarrying and loading and excavators should not used after 7PMand before 6AM.

The Secretary to the Government, Industries Departement orany other authority of officer authorized by him,preferablythe District Collector, has to pass a specific order inwriting permitting the use of excavators indicating the numberto be used not exceeding two per quarry site.