The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Ropar, has proposed a Centre of Excellence on socio-environmental sustainability for river sand mining in Punjab as the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the state mulls a collaboration with the premiere institute of the Centre government on hot potato issue of sand mining, and alleged illegalities over it, in the State. The research based centre is proposed to be set up at IIT Ropar department of civil engineering and is aimed at environmental preservation, water resource management, infrastructure protection, revenue generation and “improved public image of the government”, among other potential “benefits”. The proposed centre, as per the draft, will also help Punjab government in flood hazard mapping-cum-monitoring and protection of riverbanks. It is proposed to be set up at a cost of Rs 12 crore. As per the IIT Ropar proposal, prepared by IIT Ropar team headed by Civil Engineering department assistant professor Reet Kamal Tiwari and accessed by The Indian Express, it is proposed to carry out hydrological studies on streamflow pattern and channel geometry; bank erosion and possible flood inundation mapping due to mining activity; predicting future rainfall scenario using existing climate change models to help mine planning; quantitative estimation of flood in the catchment area due to future rainfall; and estimation of sediment load for various flood scenarios as a part of rejuvenation study. Floods during monsoon earlier this year had wreaked havoc in Punjab and the State government had roped in IIT Ropar for carrying out rejuvenation/replenishment study across the State to assess the post flood scenario in terms of variation in sediment deposits in and along rivers viz-a-viz pre-monsoon period. Punjab Mines and Geology department director Abhijeet Kaplish told The Indian Express, “We have decided to pursue collaboration with IIT Ropar for obtaining scientific data. I hope this would streamline the mining industry in the State and would help in revenue generation, apart from addressing environmental concerns.” A number of meetings, The Indian Express has learnt, have already been held between research faculty of IIT Ropar led by Tiwari. IIT Ropar has proposed six members namely Dr Naveen James, Dr Resmi Sebastian and Dr Raheena M (all three from Geotechnical Engineering), Dr Shray Pathak (Geomatics Engineering), Dr Sreekumar Jayadevan (Humanities and Social Sciences) and Dr Navin Gopinathan (Chemical and Environmental Engineering) as co-in charges of the project. Underlining the significance of the project, IIT Ropar has said that the proposed centre would “provide scientific advice to the Government of Punjab” which would be “based on research and development in the field of mining with cutting edge technology” and would “audit the exact extraction of sand and other materials for the rivers in Punjab”.
