THE LINK BETWEEN POLITICIANS AND SAND MINING IN AND AROUND MUMBAI
by
Laika Abdulali
Annexures
ANNEXURE A
Sand mining issue haunts Naik
Viju B | TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Mumbai: NCP leader and newly re-elected Belapur MLA Ganesh Naik is once again in the spotlight.The issue of illegal sand mining in his own backyard in Belapur has come up anew,with the Bombay high court issuing a show cause notice against the court-appointed commissioner for failing to file a report on this illegal activity in Navi Mumbai.
The Bombay high court bench consisting of Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar and Justice A M Khanwilkar has issued a show cause notice to court commissioner Sachin Chavan for not complying with the court order asking him to file a report on sand mining in Navi Mumbai.The court asked why action should not be taken against the commissioner when even after repeated directions the order was not executed.
Ganesh Naik has enough reasons to worry,as documents obtained from the Maharashtra Maritime Board under the Right to Information query show that occupants of the land along the Ulve creek,which borders Belapur and Panvel,include his family members.
On both sides of the creek are huge mounds of sand as high as two-storeyed buildings,which have been periodically dredged from the creek and also brought in from Mahad.
At the mouth of the creek,near the new bridge connecting Belapur and Panvel,concrete debris is dumped on mangroves,and new embankments are slowly being created as an extension to the dry docks.
Although Ganesh Naik has consistently denied that theres been illegal sand mining activity here and said this dock has been used just as a storage point,locals say the presence of sand-dredgers here is a dead giveaway.The mud is brought both from Mahad and also dredged here,and a lot of mixing takes place.The court has observed that sand was being illegally taken out of the Savitri river and Sape village in Mahad, said Rahul Thakur,one of the counsels to the clutch of petitions that are being heard on illegal sand mining in Thane and on the Konkan coast.
The Bombay high court in both cases had noted that the state given no permission or licences in that area,particularly in the CRZ,to carry out this activity.The court also came down heavily on court commissioner Sachin Chavan,who was appointed along with other authorities in coastal districts like Sindhudurg,Ratnagiri and Raigad to submit a report on sand mining in Navi Mumbai.Though Chavan has appeared in court and submits that he will execute the commissions work,we however withdraw the order appointing him as a local commissioner and direct him to file a reply to show cause why appropriate action in accordance with law be not taken against him, the order said.
The court has now directed the chief judicial magistrate of the Vashi court to execute the order and submit the report.Sumaira Abdulali of Awaaz Foundation,who is among the petitioners in this case and is fighting the sand mafia off the Alibaug coast,said the sand mining business by politicians had been causing severe environmental damage,and added that the government got no revenue it was done illegally.The Alibaug court also ordered prosecution against former MLA Madukar Thakur for illegal excavation of sand from Kihim beach, Abdulali said.
Another Mithi in the making
Sand dredging seems to be driving 7-km Ulve creek towards a Mithilike disaster with far-reaching environmental consequences.The creek gets special mention in the Bombay Gazette.Local historians say pearls were found on its sandy bed and it was a node of commerce with Persia centuries ago.Today,the creek is mined for cheap,dark sand used in construction.The creek passes through Taloja,Panvel and Ulve before entering the sea at Belapur.It's comparable to Mumbais Mithi in terms of protection from tidal instability and possible floods, said Belapur resident P B Menon.
Copyright 2012 Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reserved.
ANNEXURE B
‘No attacker brought to book so far’
Radha Rajadhyaksha, TNN Jan 10, 2010, 04.46am IST
Friday's murderous attack on Citispace convenor Nayana Kathpalia may have been the most lethal in terms of the weapon used, but it was by no means the first. A host of city activists has been at the receiving end of intimidatory tactics for years now; and it is their contention that the lack of concrete police and state action has emboldened their antagonists considerably.
A quick look at statistics from MITRA (Movement against Intimidation, Threat and Revenge against Activists), a body set up to protect activists from the increasing attacks against them, reveals a worrying state of affairs. "Not a single person has actually been brought to book despite the repeated attacks on activists,'' says environmental activist Sumaira Abdulali of Aawaz, pointing out that in some cases even an FIR was not registered despite the activist identifying his attackers. "This happened, for one, in the case of Citispace activist H S D'Lima,'' she says. "Not only were the persons not arrested, the inspector who Mr D'Lima had said was colluding with them was put in charge of the investigation.''
From Navleen Kumar, the tribal rights activist who was murdered by the local land mafia in 2002 to Naveen Pandya, the AGNI activist who was attacked by Samajwadi Party worker Srikant Mishra in September 2009 for protesting against his illegal garage, it's been almost the same story. "Activists like Edwin Britto, James John of AGNI and Suryakant Panchal of the Bombay Environmental Action Group had communicated the threat to them in a series of letters to the police and high-level government officers, but nothing came of it,'' says Abdulali. "And after the assualt, it was always a struggle to file the FIR and get action to be taken.''
Abdulali's own experience with the police and courts has been nightmarish. When she was attacked in 2004 by the sand mining mafia headed by Congressman Madhu Thakur in Alibag, the local police registered an FIR under the Environment Protection Act (EPA) as well as the IPC for assault, but left out the EPA provisions in the chargesheet. "It took five years in the courts to restore these provisions,'' says Abdulali. "Politicians across the board are indulging in this, and continue to remain in power despite evidence of their illegal and criminal activities. It is no wonder that activists get attacked—there is such a clear collusion between politicians, police, the administration and vested interests.''
Anandini Thakoor and Aftab Siddique of the H Ward West Citizens' Federation found themselves at the receiving end of Congress workers' ire on Jan 23 last year when they set out with a large group of civic activists to deface the illegal political hoardings put up by all parties. "The Congress workers went to the police station to demand that an FIR be filed against us,'' she says. "At night, a mob came to stone our houses and we had to be given police protection.'' Thakoor alleges that Congress MLA Baba Siddique was behind it, "manipulating everything from Delhi''. "The police finally cowed down to him and filed an FIR against me and Aftab,'' she says. "However, the counter-FIR that we had demanded be filed against the Congress workers was never done—Aftab found that out months later under RTI.''
The attack on Thakoor, incidentally, came months after Hasan Gafoor, then police commissioner, put in place a special cell with five nodal officers to protect activists from being targeted. "This happened after leading civic and environmental NGOs, whose activism hurts anti-social elements the most, went to Gafoor and requested him to do this,'' says an activist. "However, if local police stations continue to collude with wrongdoers or are browbeaten into it by politicians, what does one do?''
Neera Punj, co-convenor of Citispace, who was also threatened by an anonymous caller after the attack on Nayana Kathpalia, says that it is vital for NGOs to follow up on the special police cell. "It's been set up all right, now we have to see that it works,'' she says. Concludes Abdulali, "It is the duty of the administration to uphold the rule of law and support those who are working towards this rather than ignore developing situations until they become unmanageable. Every concerned citizen needs to see that this is done for his own safety.'
And now, a 'mitra' for whistle-blowers
July 21, 2004
- 1.
- 2.Sand mafia attacks TOI team in Raigad
March 17, 2010 - 3.
- 4.The sound of festivity
August 22, 2006
THE TIMES OF INDIA
© 2012 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reserved
ANNEXURE C
NCP leader waves gun at tehsildar
Vijay Singh, TNN Apr 3, 2012, 03.02AM IST
NAVI MUMBAI: All tehsil offices in Raigad district remained shut on Monday in protest against "sand mafia", after a tehsildar was threatened at gunpoint by a local NCP leader.
A police complaint has been lodged against Nitin Parab, NCP president of Roha. In his complaint, tehsildar Ganesh Sangle said, on Saturday night, when he visited a spot where sand is allegedly dredged, Parab alighted from his vehicle and pointed a gun at him. On Monday, 80 tehsildars and talathis staged a protest in Alibaug and met deputy collector, demanding that Parab be held and they be given more security. Later, they also met additional superintendent of police Ashwini Sanap.
Meanwhile, NCP has expelled the accused from their party due to this incident.
Activist Sumaira Abdulali who has been fighting against illegal sand mining in Raigad said: "It is shocking to note that a government officer of the rank of tehsildar can be blatantly threatened with a gun."
I too have earlier faced the wrath of such elements who do not like any interference in the sand mining business.''
The Roha incident was also raised in the state legislative assembly.
as well. While it was not discussed at length on a busy business day, the issue was raised by Peasants and Workers Party legislator from Raigad Meenakshi Patil.
Two years ago, in March 2010,a team of TOI reporter and photographer who had accompanied Abdulali to a sand mining site at Mahad were brutally attacked by those working for the sand mafia.
All tehsil offices are likely to stay shut even on Tuesday.
RELATED ARTICLES
- 1.Pristine Kihim, Awas beaches in grip of illegal sand mining
April 8, 2012 - 2.
- 3.Suspended NCP man held for gun threat
April 6, 2012 - 4.
- 5.Raiding the river
June 19, 2011
- 1.Pristine Kihim, Awas beaches in grip of illegal sand mining
THE TIMES OF INDIA
© 2012 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reserved
ANNEXURE D
Photographs of Site visit on Awaaz Foundation website
ANNEXURE E
|
SECOND NATURE
'Creeks and rivers up for sale'
Viju B
24 March 2010, 12:10 AM IST
As we drove down the Ghats last Tuesday, the verdant creek that flowed amidst the hills was still being slit and its sand looted in daylight. We did not have much time, however, to shed tears as a white Scorpio intercepted our car and three youngsters jumped out.
“Who gave you permission to shoot (pictures) here?” one of them roared.
We said it was news to us that the creeks and coastline had become private property.
“We have purchased the entire creek for Rs 28 crore. We own it now,” a man, who was later identified as Pappu Patil, the son of local MLA Meenakshi Patil, said, peering through the window.
The group said they wanted to talk, but their body language revealed more. So we quickly drove away even as they started banging our car.
Fortunately, a short while before this encounter, we had clicked some photographs - evidence of one of the worst environmental violations at Bankot creek, 130 km from Mumbai's coast. Around 24 sand dredgers, a majority of them hired by political leaders and their relatives and friends in Maharashtra, were working overtime, digging deep into the bowels of the creek.
The Scorpio, meanwhile, tried to overtake us. Sumaira Abdulali (niece of legendry naturalist Salim Ali), aware the miners wanted to harm us, drove the car through the steep Ghat section, like a rally driver, clocking up to 100 km/hr, in a bid to flee.
A few kilometres down the road, the miners again tried to block our path--this time with a black SUV. Sumaira drove off the road into the rough patch, at one point almost falling into the deep ravine.
We had escaped two attempts on our lives already. As we crossed the 10-km Ghat section, there was another truck in the middle of the toll-bridge. The truck tried to ram our car to topple it into the Kaal River. We only just managed to cross the bridge, almost touching the railings. Our car then stopped and within minutes 20-25 people surrounded it, started breaking the windows, and tried snatching the camera from our photographer. Luckily, I had already taken the camera’s chip from him. We then called the cops, but by the time they arrived, the car was damaged and we had just about escaped getting lynched.
A criminal case was later filed for attempted murder and destruction of property. On Saturday, two sand dredger-owners were arrested. But the main culprit, Pappu Patil, the son of the local MLA, is still absconding. In the interim, the Bombay high court has taken cognizance of the incident and asked the state to submit a report on the case.
This incident clearly shows how our so-called leaders have usurped the public’s assets - whether it is the creeks, coastline, open spaces and forests - and any attempt to expose them can have serious consequences.
Indiscriminate mining of creeks and rivers is an easy way to make money. The Western Ghats have been identified amongst the world’s ten bio-diversity hotspots, with over 5,000 species of flowering plants, 139 mammals, 508 bird species and 179 amphibian species. At least, 325 globally-threatened species have made this area their home.
The Bankot creek, a part of the Western Ghats, flows amidst the Ratnagiri and Raigad hills and originates from Mahableshwar as the historic Savitri River. It transforms into a broad estuary as it enters the Arabian Sea. The creek is abundant in crocodiles, migratory birds, and marine life.
Kerala has already banned mining of rivers after the Bharta Puzha and Periyar were being systematically denuded. But other states like Maharashtra continue to flout environmental norms.
Is the government not aware of these violations? A couple of years ago, when I asked the then Maharashtra environment secretary about the massive sand-mining at Panvel creek, she replied curtly saying that rivers and creeks were anyway meant to be dredged. She was, perhaps, speaking on behalf of her boss, the environment minister and NCP leader, Ganesh Naik, whose family is into the sand–mining business.
And as I wondered how we escaped unscathed, my colleague remarked wryly, “Perhaps it is Nature’s intervention. The creek needs you as much as you need it.” It is high time that we adopted a creek as our own.
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Sankar
says:
June 18,2010 at 02:14 PM IST
it is against the principle of Doctrine of Public trust. It is not understood how a state can sell the creeks and being state the only custodian of its resource. I think a legal intervention is required basing on the precedents of MC Mehta vs Kamal Nath case.
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YADHU
says:
May 24,2010 at 05:06 PM IST
GREAT ARTICLE....CONGRATS FOR THE EFFORT........
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YADHU
says:
May 24,2010 at 05:04 PM IST
A GREAT ARTICLE....CONGRATULATION FOR THE REAL EFFORTS.....
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Lynn Vaz
says:
May 24,2010 at 09:25 AM IST
Hi Viju I am a resident of Sector 15 CBD Belapur and over the last 3 years have seen the sand mining spread from one end of the sector slowly inching its way towards the centre. I am sick and tired of being a silent bystander. We need to do something to stop this. To stop the degredation of the environment and more importantly to stop corrupt officials from going scott-free when they are supposed to do their jobs. Would you be able to connect me within any such group that is campaigning already against the sand mining at the Panvel Creek ??
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dr tarun
says:
May 21,2010 at 05:30 AM IST
at least the maharashtrians cant blame the biharis for selling the creek!!
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rahul singh
says:
April 04,2010 at 11:33 AM IST
...all these cocrete structures ,mega projects are leaving holes in ground somewhere...montains are being razed,rivers are beind mined...God forgive our sins but definetely sooner or later nothing will save us from the natures wrath...
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Mridula
says:
April 01,2010 at 09:33 AM IST
Hi Viju, This story worked like an alarm for me and to my friends whom I forwarded. Can we do something about it? After a while it will be forgotten. How can we keep track on what happened next?
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satish N subramanian
says:
March 26,2010 at 08:58 AM IST
i read all the comments to this blog......everyone has congratulated the life risking efforts of viju and his team......i too appreciate and salute him for this wonderful effort......but then the masses have gone on a rampage condemning the government, the ministry, the bureaucrats, the politician…...hey guys aren't we part of the system, the society, are we not contributing to this environmental destruction, may be not directly as part of the sand mafia but in many other ways……..aren’t there factories emitting poisonous carbon, the cars which throw out green house gases……..are we not felling trees for making paper……… we are also responsible for destruction of nature…………none of us can absolve ourselves from this……we have to own up the responsibility and make a drastic change in our life style…….peep into yourself and will find that every day we also destroy nature in one way or the other…lets all take a bold step and conscious effort to save our mother earth……..the society will change by itself…..its quiet natural the way the sand mafia has reacted……..obviously if someone tries to snatch ones livelihood they will not be mere spectators……….its not the goons that we need to concerned about………it’s their masters who nurture them……….and its us who provide impetus to these masters through our desire…….lets stop the blame game and look forward to build a haven on earth……..
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satish N subramanian
says:
March 26,2010 at 07:50 AM IST
¥Kudos to viju and his team….they have risked their lifes in bringing to light the systematic destruction of mother earth……….the sequence had all the ingredients of a bollywood potboiler……..it appeared as if the plot was taken out of some hindi movie…..this is another sting operation creating a sensational reading……..we need solutions………. I believe this is an open
and are contributing directly or indirectly to this cause………it is the greed that envelopes ones eyes and distorts the clarity of vision and thought……….desire in each one of us to own an apartment / a villa / a palatial mansion has kicked up the demand for construction…..the realtors are exploiting this dream of ours and in pursuit of fulfilling our dreams nurture such sand mafias………. None of us can touch them………..thank god for having escaped unhurt…….these goons have a strong backing from the mighty………all this arrests and cases are all eye wash…this will settle down in a weeks time…….. We need to focus on the root cause……….the desire…….the desire to own a place to live…………definitely this cannot be curtailed……..but then how do we win the plot….bring about a revolution in construction industry…….to evolve or invent or discover an eco-friendly concept for construction………….thereby reduce or minimize the exploitation of our mother earth………beyond a point she cannot take it……
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Harry
says:
March 26,2010 at 05:00 AM IST
Enough of all this useless eulogies sitting in the comforts of our homes. Only Viju and Sumaira will know what they went thru playing with their lives! If each of you truly care, please invite and honor them in your respective societies, associations, schools and colleges....publicise it...give it maximum exposure...We need an army of Vijus and Sumairas to fight these lowly goons in the garb of Envirnment minsters and officials.. Any one willing? Challenge you to see your posts and invites here in response!!
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sanjay
says:
March 25,2010 at 09:51 PM IST
Politicians are behaving like kings and misusing democracy.
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Qaari
says:
March 25,2010 at 02:24 AM IST
In village India even today they go for treatment of snake bite and scorpian sting by Mantra reciting by some one who knows it. Persons die if the snake is realy poisonous otherwise it is thought that the cure was by Mantras. Scorpian sting is rarely fatal and its Mantra is supposed to be simpler. And so there is a proverb: Putting hand in snake's hole without knowing even Mantra of scorpian? Life is in danger in such situation. God saved you people. Thank God. It is like coal in Bihar or mineral in Jarkhand, there is illegal mining side by side. It is not the job of simple activists to stop this kind of activity by direct intervention. They should understand that the subjects are ruthless and their sole interest is money making. Other luxury follow itself. Our leaders are like snakes. Bitten by poisonous ones may not survive by Mantras like PIL or FIR of constitutional provisions etc. Only A company can stop B company and C company can stop D company and so on. It is serious matter. Alas there will not be any thing to stop this by govt.
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Kartick Shirur
says:
March 24,2010 at 10:53 PM IST
I am glad the author survived the attempts on their lives. I hope the courts will bring Papu and his cronies to justice. This article reminds me of another one I'd read in the Times called "Rape of the Aravallis'. I feel until our environmental ministry is cleansed of corruption, and empowered with some sort of enforcement task force, such incidents will continue to happen. I know that there is a Forest Service, but is there was some kind of environmental police I guess enforcing laws would be easier. I hope things change for the better before the crocodiles and other animals vanish.
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Hemal Mehta
says:
March 24,2010 at 08:43 PM IST
Can anyone with Indian residence address, write about this creeks and rever dredging to : envisect@nic.in - Environment secretary and jairam@jairam-ramesh.com - Minster. and following in the Maharashtra government. Chiefminister@maharashtra.gov.inDeputyChiefMinister@maharashtra.gov.inMin_Forest@maharashtra.gov.inMin_Waterresources&cada@maharashtra.gov.inMin_WaterResources_KVIC@maharashtra.gov.in I got both above email addresses from official websites and should be brought in their knowledge.
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jageera
says:
March 24,2010 at 08:32 PM IST
Dear Viju Excellent work and I am glad you managed to escape from the grim clutches of this mafia that day. Why is this news item not in the main page I want to ask ? The politicians are nothing but an organised gang for looting public property and are compeletely unaccountable.. A simlar attitude has brought disgrace and will bring more disgrace in the future when in 10 years all tigers will be extinct, because of these politicians doing exactly the opposite of what they are supposed to do. The situation in indeed bleak for the natural resources of India, look how we have not been able to control the pollution in the Ganga even after having spent crores and crores of rupees for cleaning it, these people have eaten all the money. Simply eaten it. Everywhere I see mainstream media worrying only about bollywood and cricket.. and issues of importance, those that have real impact on the people are left untouched.. why dont we complain ? why do we give them the right to rape our country every year, every day, and every hour ? why ?
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kirti
says:
March 24,2010 at 07:40 PM IST
please keep up the pressure,god bless you for what u r doing, a country survives through people like you
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indian
says:
March 24,2010 at 06:36 PM IST
Real bravery by Viju.....u r d real hero who's not afraid of these political goons....And for Maharashtra people,i guess these local leaders are doing more harm to Maharashtra then the North Indian "bhaiyyas"....Time to wake up and realize this.....
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Subhash
says:
March 24,2010 at 06:01 PM IST
Excellent article. Concerned public intervention must put a stop to such plunder.---Subhash
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Jiju Mathew
says:
March 24,2010 at 05:42 PM IST
Dear Viju Words cannot explain the fear I felt when I tried to imagine myself in your shoes. What you are attempting is what I like to call "an act of selfless heroism". Its a pity that Indians like us continue to turn a blind eye to the blatant rape of our resources. We are quick to blame the West for all our problems, yet everyday we also see our own people screw us over far more than any white man will ever do. I fear that the India we bequeath to our children will be nothing more than the shell of a nation we once knew. May God bless you on your endeavours by giving you the strength and fortitude to bring to light issues like these that are often drowned in the pr spectacle called "Shining India".
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Dr Adithya P
says:
March 24,2010 at 04:17 PM IST
This is real courage! Congratulations on your efforts and all the best.
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Deepak
says:
March 24,2010 at 03:39 PM IST
This should call for resignation of the State Government. You took a lot of risk and have published the information. It is to be seen if MNS/Shiv Sena / BJP / Communists take up this issue to protect the pride of Marathi Manoos and go after these goons who put you to so much trouble. I am sure they will not as these are the same goons who harass ordinary people for non-issues.
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sen
says:
March 24,2010 at 03:24 PM IST
is the minister and MLA still holding their post. they should be sacked this instant and sent to jail. and what is the opinion of our PM and the royal family whose party rules the state? shameful. such level of corruptness.
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Chaitanya Marpakwar
says:
March 24,2010 at 03:13 PM IST
It is sad and true that this is the case. Great story !!!
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Brig (Retd) SK Sharma
says:
March 24,2010 at 03:09 PM IST
Look at the continuum called India. We have people such as Mr Viju B on one hand. And political thieves on the other. It may not be only in Maharashtra alone. It has been happening in each corner of our desparate country. Thieves all over. Political thieves, a clan who perceives the country as thier own private property. And it is not going to end. A revolution is needed. It shall happen sooner. Or later. Jai Hind.
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krishnaswami
says:
March 24,2010 at 02:40 PM IST
viju b,sumaira abudulai and all the unknown faces who are part of this expose, hats off!!! yaar accept my bended knees salutations. Take care of yourself and the team as you guys are the rarest of the rare breed in Indian journalism and i could see from this article the sole cause to do all this was to save nature. Do not take sides, do not get swayed by money though its very difficult in this day and world and keep this cause close to your heart. You are doing god's work and iam sure god will protect you. He has already shown he protects you as you yourself mentioned how you managed the clutches of the devil. some day when i finish my material chase i will try to find you guys out and try and be part of your team. wish you all good luck, all the very best and TAKE CARE.
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Environmentalist
says:
March 24,2010 at 02:22 PM IST
Your act deserves a salute. The offenders should be given strict punishment.
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Saurabh
says:
March 24,2010 at 01:28 PM IST
Definitely a revealing and disturbing account of happenings which cause irreparable damage to environment without even getting noticed. In the Indian scheme of things actions on such issues take long enough to yeild a situation of no return. Still thanks to you to act promptly and taking the case further ...
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hortense vaughan
says:
March 24,2010 at 12:56 PM IST
You would have fared much better if you were escorted by heavily armed minders who would have provided a deterrent to the bullies. The rape of the Indian countryside by greedy well established individuals is continuing unabated and these soon to be rich rapists will eventually side with the fascist BJP and form a nationalist socialist India (AKA Nazis). This is what happened in Germany in the 1930's
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drbsnaidu
says:
March 24,2010 at 12:01 PM IST
in andhra the situation is same all creeks and land and river sand beds are owned by politicians and every year government is loosing 1000 cr excehquer as these illigial mining is threatining the eco system,as shown in the movei dasavataram ,it happened to me once i treid to photograph illegal sand mining .trees annot survive without roots and rivers cannot survive without sand beds and taking away these things is like poaching animals
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ABOUT VIJU B
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Viju B, an assistant editor with The Times of India, writes on a range of issues, including environment, civic infrastructure, insurance and right to information. He believes that his views are not sacrosanct - nor are yours. The truth is somewhere in the middle, smiling beatifically at us. He feels that any form of fundamentalism, be it of the markets or the state, can be harmful and the role of a writer is to ensure this delicate balance, so that different facets of the same truth shine.
The views expressed in Second Nature are the author´s own.
ABOUT SECOND NATURE
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While this blog applauds the India that is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, it is acutely aware of the other end of the spectrum - of the India that desperately stretches its hand for the children of a lesser god.
Copyright© 2011 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reserved. For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service
ANNEXURE G
MAHARASHTRA assembly report ver1.0.pdf
ANNEXURE H
Illegal mining flourishes in Madhya Pradesh, even after
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Bhopal: The shocking murder of Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Narendra Kumar Singh in Madhya Pradesh's Morena district, uncovered the flourishing mining mafia in the region which exists despite the Supreme Court ban seven years back. The Chambal region, which offers illegal sand miners an ample base to loot from, has fallen into a lull following the murder. However, upon closer look, NDTV found that underneath the calm, the illegal trade still continues.
The illegal mining business in the region has slowed down, but it has in no way stopped completely. Farm tractors laden with river sand, a visible sign of the illegal sand mining being carried can still be spotted in the region.
When asked, a trader admitted to extracting sand from the river bed. Although the murder has made it difficult, illegal miners continue to exploit the riverbed, albeit discreetly.
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Ironically, the IPS officer's murder has driven up the price of sand and now the illegal miners get over R
s.
2000 for a truckload. "These days we get over 2000 R
s.
for a truck load because very few people dare to go out there and bring the stuff," the miner said.
The miners have a simple modus operandi: They take orders for the sand and supply the loot in the night.
Located in the heart of the Chambal region, Morena has always been notorious for the illegal sand trade carried out by people yielding political influence and their labourers who are paid well, and who never testify against them.
These traders sell the sand for almost R
s.
65 per quintal in Morena and Gwalior. The price of the sand increases by almost 50 per cent as it reaches Delhi.
In order to protect the Indian gharials in the Chambal River, the Supreme Court in 2006 had banned mining in the region. But the ban was vagrantly ignored and the district had registered 55 cases of illegal sand mining last year and had seized 42 trucks of sand.
According to Mining Officer of Morena, R. K. Kaneria, there are 132 treasure mines where rock is quarried and there are no allotted areas for sand mining as it was banned.
Denying that illegal sand mining is carried out in the region, Mr Kaneria said, "Whenever we come across illegal sand mining we take action."
Blaming the authorities' 'half-hearted' approach to curbing mining, ex-BJP MLA, Gajraj Singh, says, "The people near Chambal are aware of the demand of sand and so got greedy to make money. But because the authorities are half-hearted about curbing illegal mining, the locals are encouraged to continue.''
The attack and subsequent murder of the IPS officer is not a stray incident; in the past, several officials have been attacked while trying to contain illegal mining in the region. The local authorities must adopt stringent measures to tackle the illegal mining menace in the region before more officers fall prey to the criminals.
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