The district-level sand monitoring committee has allowed scaled-down extraction of sand from three rivers in the coastal regulation zone (CRZ). This decision ends nearly three-month impasse on sand extraction in coastal areas of the district, which allows for extraction of about 7.81 lakh tonnes of sand. The April 16 order was under wraps for unspecified reasons. According to the order, the committee has allotted 242 individuals half-an-acre each in 19 identified sand bars in three rivers – Nandini, Gurupura and the Nethravathi – in the CRZ to extract sand. The department of applied mechanics in National Institute of Technology, Surathkal, which studied the availability of sand vis-a-vis permissible extraction, had recommended to the committee to reduce extraction by 30% following deficient monsoon from 19 identified sand bars spread over 297 acres. Also, the committee sought clearance for 297 acres from state-level environment impact assessment authority, Karnataka, recommending 40% reduction in output in January. The authority, in turn, scaled down the area to 178 acres in issuing environment clearance that is valid for a year for each sand bar on April 11. After issuing permits to 242 applicants, the district committee is still left with 57 acres of sand bar that it can allot to prospective applicants. The committee has issued permits for 19 sand bars – one in Nandini in Sasihithlu-Pavanje village, 12 in Gurupura and six in the Nethravathi. Given the severe shortage of sand and following the committee’s approval, sand extraction is going on in full swing at the allocated blocks. Some of the key conditions imposed on extraction and transportation of sand are: issuing 25 permits a month to ship sand out, 15 could be inter-district; permit-holder must use only two boats; extract sand manually between 6am and 6pm; install GPS on sand vehicles; and not extract sand 250 metres upstream and 500 metres downstream of the river, near bridges.
2016, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.