Riverbed mining restored in forest areas of Uttarakhand

An empowered committee in the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has given clearance for riverbed mining in forest areas of Uttarakhand.

The move came 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 riverbed mining. The UFDC had also prepared a separate environmental impact assessment (EIA) report in this regard.

The ban on riverbed mining in forest and other areas of the hill state had affected thousands of jobs and business to the tune of Rs 50-100 crore.

“We are glad that we have been permitted by the empowered committee to restart river-bed mining in forest areas,” said Vinod Kumar Singhal, General Manger (UFDC), who participated in the January 21 meeting of the empowered committee. In the next step, the MoEF would give the final permission.

Following the ban of river-bed mining, the prices of construction materials have gone up considerably in the state which has been putting a lot of pressure on the 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 Dehradun, falling in the Garhwal region.

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