Sand extraction from 12 sand bars

Mangaluru: Permission has been given to 76 people to extract sand from 12 sand bars of the 16 sand bars within the Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) limits in Dakshina Kannada. Of them, the sand bars have been inspected and in a few days, complete permission will be given for san extraction from here, informed the deputy commissioner Sasikanth Senthil.

Speaking with the reports at his office the DC said that emphasis has been given for sand extraction from the non-CRZ areas. 22 blocks have been identified. Of them, two have been given on tender. The remaining may be added to the tender process. In order to make it easier, the rules will be slightly relaxed too.

Rules relaxation

A one year lease has been extended to 5 years. Instead of giving the permission to those who have done a business of Rs  25 lakh, permission will be given to those who have done an annual business of Rs 5 lakh. The limit on the miners should belong to the same village has been extended to the taluk. Hence, more participation is expected in the next tender process. Non-CRZ sand must be utilized more, said the DC.

The price for the sand has already been decided and the district administration has thought of pricing it at Rs 3,000. The final decision on this will be taken at the next meeting. To facilitate this, a dedicated control room will be created, informed the DC