Almost three years after identifying 39 potential sand mining areas in Goa, the State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) has recommended granting of environment clearances (EC) to nearly 300-odd sand extractors for undertaking mining strictly through manual methods.
In a special meeting chaired by Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Wednesday, the SEAC has recommended to the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) to grant ECs for carrying out sand mining in 39 identified river beds in north Goa.
The decision comes after the Union Mines Ministry directed the state government to notify the areas for sand mining along the river beds, while clearing all the applications received for the purpose immediately. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) in mid-2013 had imposed a nationwide ban on sand mining without environment clearances.
The government approved agency has already undertaken a rapid environment impact assessment (REIA) and detailed environment impact assessment (EIA) study of the potential sand mining areas of the state, as identified by the District Collectorate..................Read more
Source web page: Heraldgoa
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