Illegal sand mining: Goa HC pulls up DGP, chief secretary for failing to act

Observing that affidavits filed by the DGP and the Chief Secretary, assuring strict action against illegal sand miners, have remained “paper assurances”, the court said it expected “greater sensitivity” from top officials on the issue of environmental protection, if not compliance with the court’s repeated directions. “It is extremely difficult to believe that the police or other executive authorities are not aware or cannot see this large scale of sand mining, which has now surfaced… What surprises and anguishes us is that the authorities who are duty-bound to stop this activity pretend that they do not even see these activities going on,” said the court.

The court has also directed the Chief Secretary and the DGP to submit a detailed action plan by December 12.

Referring to a list of 10 sites where illegal sand mining was allegedly carried out, the court said that photographs — submitted by the petitioner — only referred to canoes in the river extracting sand without any permission from the authorities concerned. “This, according to us, appears to be only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. The activities, as we have noted in our earlier orders, involve several labourers, transporters, and transportation by trucks,” it said, adding that the sites where sand mining is purported to have resumed are in Bicholim, Ponda, Tiswadi, and Pernem talukas.

“Each of these places possibly has only one or two police stations. It is difficult to accept that those in charge of these police stations are unaware of this large-scale activity, involving several labourer trucks, canoes etc. Neither the Chief Secretary nor the DGP thinks it is appropriate to change police personnel at these police stations or act against those in charge of these police stations. In the past, affidavits have been filed before us by police officials, stating that when they went to the sites, they found nothing,” said the court.

“In the action plan, the Chief Secretary and the DGP should indicate names and details of police personnel, deputy collectors, and nodal officers who will be responsible in the talukas of Bicholim, Ponda, Tiswadi, and Pernem. The action plan will also give us details about rigid inflatable boats and unmanned aerial vehicles, as referred to by the DGP in his April 17 affidavit. Despite assurances in the said affidavit, it appears that illegal sand mining has resumed,” the court added.