Uttarakhand CM to meet Ramesh on sand mining

With the centre issuing a warning on illegal sand mining in the Ganga river in Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said that he will talk to Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh to settle the issue.

The CM’s reaction came after Ramesh gave an ultimatum to Uttarakhand to stop illegal sand mining, locally known as “khanan”.

“Let me hold talks with Ramesh ji first. I am sure he has not issued any such warning. But in case such a warning has been issued, it will hurt the sentiments of the people of Uttarakhand,” Nishank said.

Setting a three week deadline for Uttarakhand to stop illegal sand mining in the Ganga, Ramesh said that the state government has failed to take any step to stop such activities. He also said if illegal mining is not stopped, the Centre will have no option but to invoke Section 5 of the Environment Protection Act and take action accordingly.

Reports of illegal mining continue to come from different parts of the hill state particularly around big rivers like Ganga and Yamuna. Sand mining or collection of stones, boulders and other minor minerals from the riverbed, provides thousands of jobs and earns a revenue of Rs 100-200 crore for the state.

Environmentalists feel that the ban was necessary to check flooding in the rivers.