BWRC urges MLAs in Surat district to raise the illegal sand mining issue in Tapi river in district coordination meeting

Surat : An appeal has been made to the MLAs in Surat district to raise the issue of Rs 189 crore worth of alleged sand mining scam perpetrated by Navsari-based MM Infra Buildcon in Tapi river without taking permission from the CRZ authorities for the same at the district coordination meeting chaired by district collector.

MHS Shaikh, president of Brakish Water Research Centre (BWRC) represented to all the MLAs from Surat district to raise the illegal sand mining issue in the district coordination meeting chaired by district collector Ayush Oak.

It must be noted that the district collector’s office has asked MM Infra Buildcon to submit the CRZ NOC within 15 days failing which action will be initiated against the company owners.

The action has come after BWRC wrote to Gujarat Chief Minister demanding a high-level investigation into the Rs 189 crore sand mining scam perpetrated by Navsari-based M M Infra Buildcon, which has been causing environmental damage for the last eight months without obtaining prior and mandatory environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), as both mining areas exceed the mine area of 5 hectares as per EIA notification.

Following the complaint, district collector Ayush Oak asked the geology department to carry out field investigation and submit report. The geology department found that MM Infra Buildcon had the permission for sand mining in the Tapi river and they paid the royalty amount to the State Government. However, the company lacked the CRZ NoC for carrying out such activities.

MHS Shaikh, president of BWRC, stated in his complaint that MM Infra Buildcon violated environmental standards and harmed the ecology and marine life by misusing his connections with officials and politicians.

M M Infra Buildcon was granted permission in two applications of one lakh tonnes each in the name of sand mining with ghost activity of river dredging with mechanical suction machine on March 8, 2022 for a period of 180 days. The mining leases were granted by the Commissioner of Geology and Mining on the recommendation of the Surat District Collector, along with the NOC granted by the Gandhinagar Irrigation Department and the Commissioner of Fisheries.

Both lease agreements expired on September 8, 2022, but illegal mining  continue in the river bed. According to Shaikh, the company has sold a large quantity of sand in bulk to local builders as well as other private contractors in Gujarat and Maharashtra for cash.

M M Infra Buildcon, according to the complainant, not only mined the shown area without permission, but also dredged the ecological sensitive areas defined as CRZ1A under CRZ Notification 2011/2019 in the Kadiyabet region, which is the Tapi River delta. The mining of mud mixed with sand, which caused bank erosion, damaged the river bank and mangroves for nearly a kilometre, and many trees were destroyed. They dredged the Kadiyabet for sand and returned the mud to the river. The entire mining operation, however, was not to de-silt the river, but rather to harvest the massive sand.

“The issue of illegal sand mining is very serious” said MHS Shaikh, president of BWRC. “It is the moral responsibility of the elected representatives from Surat district to raise the issue in the public interest and to protect Tapi river”