Security paper to check illegal sand movement

The government has initiated the process of introducing special security permit paper to curb the illegal movement of sand in Karnataka

The Karnataka government will introduce Special Security Permit Paper (SSPP) in the next six months to curb illegal movement of sand in the state.

"The government has initiated the process of introducing SSPP to curb the illegal movement of sand in Karnataka. It will be introduced in the next six months," Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T B Jayachandra told reporters here.

He said, the Mines and Geology Department has already introduced such an e-permit system to curb illegal transport of iron ore and the possibility of pilferage of iron ore. The decision was taken in the light of the Supreme Court and the Central Empowered Committee (CEC)'s direction in the recent past.

The special permit paper has a number of security features - embedded hologram, see through ink, bar code, micro-lining among others, which makes it nearly impossible to fake, the minister said.

Jayachandra also said the truckers should transport sand by passing through identified checkposts. After holding talks with Kerala Public Works Department, Thrissur district administration and Mysore Police Commissioner, the government plans to disseminate information related sand mining on the internet.

"We will make information available about the sand availability across the state, details of permit-holders and other related details," he said. The government has taken step to supply sand only from stockyards, Jayachandra said.