DMs told to crack down on illegal sand mining and storage in Uttar Pradesh

An official said ahead of the halt in sand mining next week, contractors have expedited work in major rivers across the state and a large quantity of sand has been dumped across Bundelkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh

The Uttar Pradesh geology and mining department has directed district magistrates to carry out geo-tagging of the places where sand has been stored and to install CCTV cameras for a vigil on the activities of contractors to check illegal mining and storage during the monsoon.

Representational image. (HT Archive)

An official said ahead of the halt in sand mining next week, contractors have expedited work in major rivers across the state and a large quantity of sand has been dumped across Bundelkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh.

In a letter to the district magistrates, secretary, geology, and mining, Roshan Jacob, said the permission to store sand at the dumpsites was given to ensure that adequate sand was available for construction during the monsoon.

Sand mining would be halted from July 1 to September 30, she said.

The sand could be stored at the spots approved by the district administrations. The names of the contractors and the rates of the mineral would be displayed on boards along with geo-tagging of the spots.