MoEF forms panel to look into UP sand mining issue

Issue came to light when UP govt suspended IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal responsible for arrest of 15 people

The ministry of environment and forests today set up a three-member committee to look into the illegal sand mining at Gautam Budh Nagar in Uttar Pradesh.

The committee includes MoEF director Dr Saroj, deputy collector of minses (incharge)Dehradun office of IBM and MoEF regional office director K K Garg. "The committee would look into the factual position with a view of suggesting the further course of action," said an MoEF note.

The issue came to light when the Uttar Pradesh government suspended IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal, who was responsible for the arrest of 15 people and had imposed a fine of Rs 2 crore on the illegal sand miners in Gautam Budh Nagar.

The flying squads formed by Nagpal had seized 24 dumpers and 300 trolleys which were used by sand mafias. Following the political storm over Nagpal’s suspension environment minister Jayanti Natarajan had come out in public saying that the ministry would conduct an independent enquiry into the incident.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had also banned mining or removal of sand from river beds across the country without an environmental clearance last week. In February, the apex court had ordered mandatory environment clearances from environment ministry on all excavation of minerals, including sand mining.