From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore
Bangalore, Dec 18: Under the much-awaited sand policy which was notified by the State Government on Wednesday, sand mining will be allowed only during the 12-hour period during the day from 6 am to 6 pm.
The restriction, however, will not apply to the loading and unloading activities.
The new sand policy aimed at curbing illegal sand mining across the State, provides for remittance of 25 per cent of the revenue collected from sand users to the respective gram panchayats and the rest to the State exchequer.
Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T B Jayachandra, who briefed reporters on the salient features of the sand policy in Bangalore Wednesday, the new rules framed under the sand policy banned deploying machinery for extraction of sand.
In all districts, the Public works Department would deal with the sand extraction, transportation, storage and disposal through mineral dispatch permit at the rates specified by the District committee.
The amended Karnataka Minor mineral Concession Rules made provisions to constitute both Taluk and District-level committees to oversee the sand mining activities.
The committees are empowered to fix the sand price per cubit meter after taking into account the royalty, taxes if any, expenses towards extraction, transportation, storage and disposal of sand, and any other unforeseen expenses, by a resolution from time to time.
The minister said that the Assistant Commissioner would head the Taluk Committees and the Deputy Commissioner would head the District Committee.
The committees are also empowered to book cases against any violation of rules, the minister said.
With the notification of the draft rules to the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act 1957, a central legislation, the entire process of mining, transportation and storage of Sand would get streamlined, Jayachandra said.
New rules would streamline the entire cycle of mining, transportation and storage of Sand in the state.
The previous BJP government announced the sand policy hurriedly without framing rules and this gave room for rampant illegal sand mining.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had told in the recently held Legislature session in Belgaum that 1,864 sand blocks had been identified in the State.