22-07-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Several complaints on illegal sand mining but none made to TGPCB: Centre
HYDERABAD: Despite persistent complaints by locals living in the Godavari river basin area about illegal sand mining, not a single formal complaint has been lodged with the Telangana Pollution Control Board (TGPCB), the Centre informed Parliament on Monday.
In a reply to a starred question raised by Warangal MP Kadiyam Kavya, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change stated that there is no record of any complaint regarding illegal sand mining along the Godavari riverbank in the erstwhile Warangal district.
It also confirmed that no specific study has been undertaken by the inistry on the environmental impact of such mining in the region.
The ministry clarified that the regulation and monitoring of minor minerals such as sand fall under the purview of state governments as per the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.
While the Centre has issued various guidelines, including the Sustainable Sand Mining Guidelines (2016) and Enforcement & Monitoring Guidelines for Sand Mining (2020), their implementation is the responsibility of the states.
