The government will introduce a separate sand policy for the coastal region of Karnataka, as per the long-standing demand of the people of that region, said Mines and Geology Minister Murugesh Nirani on Friday.
In his reply to U.T. Khader of the Congress in the Legislative Assembly during Question Hour, Mr. Nirani said the policy would be introduced to help the people of Udupi, Dakshina Kannada, and Uttara Kannada districts. “Construction activities have been affected in many parts of the State because of shortage of sand. The government will take steps to prevent such problems in any part of the State,” Mr. Nirani said.
The Minister also said the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) authority has been instructed to clear 13 sand mounds located along riverbeds coming under CRZ in 2020-21. The seven-member District Sand Monitoring Committee, headed by the Deputy Commissioner, will issue temporary permits to 104 applicants to extract sand from 13 sand mounds for one year.
The Minister added that action was taken to clear sand mounds as per the instructions of the Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ministry. The Mines and Geology Department would consider only those having temporary permits to clear the sand mounds of 2011-12 and a couple of years prior to that along the riverbeds in the CRZ.
