River-bed collection in forest reserves still a distant dream

Celebrations have begun in Uttarakhand amid reports that the Centre has given permission for collection of stones, boulders and other minor minerals from river-beds, locally known as ‘khanan’ business.

Since the business provides employment opportunities to thousands of people in the hill state, Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and top Congress leaders including Union Minister of State for Agriculture Harish Rawat are taking credit for getting the clearances from the environment ministry.

But the celebrations may be for a short duration only. Top officials here claimed that various tough conditions have been attached with the approvals where it will not be possible for the government and private agencies to begin operation in another six months time especially in the reserve forest.

“We have got approvals but the conditions are very tough. It will be impossible for us to go for river-bed collections in another six month time,” said a top government official.

The situation is particularly bad in Gola river in Kumaon region where the centre wants to develop two new wildlife sanctuaries in the nearby areas of Pavalgarh and Nandhore. “Now we have to take approvals from the standing committee of the national wildlife board where there will be a lot of ifs and buts,” said the official. These permissions will be in addition to the permissions from the state pollution control board.

An empowered committee in the union ministry of forests and environment had earlier given clearance for the river-bed mining in forest areas after the state-run Uttarakhand Forest Development Corporation (UFDC) approached the ministry and submitted various survey reports regarding wildlife and hydrology of the forest areas where it had sought permission for the river-bed mining. The UFDC had also prepared a separate environmental impact assessment (EIA) report in this regard.

The river-bed mining had been banned in forest and other areas of the hill state which in turn had affected thousands of jobs and business to the tune of Rs 100-200 crore in the state.

Following the ban of the river-bed mining, the prices of construction materials had gone up considerably in the state which was putting lot of pressure on the margins of real estate companies.

The UFDC had hired a Delhi-based consultant to prepare EIAs on rivers like Gola, Sharda Dabka and Kosi in Kumaon region and Song and Jhakan in Dehra Dun district of Garhwal region.

Environmentalists here felt that the revocation of ban on the river-bed mining was necessary since it checks flooding in the river due to over-deposition of boulders, silt and other sandy materials.