National Green Tribunal asks coastal police to check sand mining in Coastal Regulation Zone

The National Green Tribunal in Pune, in its order dated February 4, directed the collectors and police commissioners of the coastal districts of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa to give instructions to the coastal police stations to conduct regular vigil in the coastal areas and stop illegal sand mining in the area, which falls within the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ).

The tribunal was hearing a PIL filed by Mumbai-based Awaz Foundation against illegal sand mining in coastal areas. The PIL was transferred to the tribunal last year after it was first filed in the Bombay High Court in 2006.

In its order, the tribunal said: “No sand mining is permissible in the coastal areas under the CRZ notification, except manual extraction of small quantity as permissible to the traditional fishermen community under the specific licences issued by the collector for a short duration.”

The tribunal asked Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA), collectors and the commissioners of all coastal zones and districts to submit status reports along with cases registered and sand seized before the next hearing on March 11.