Recently, the police seized a bulldozer and a tipper used for extracting sand. The police swung into action after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) instructed it to crack down on the use of bulldozers. [break]
As per the Protection of Environment Act-1997, excavation by machines is not allowed as they damage the environment. However, the use of bulldozers in excavation continued unabated due to failure of the District Development Committee (DDC) to implement the act.
“It is the responsibility of the DDC to stop the use of bulldozers in excavating sand,” Baglung police DSP Uma Prasad Chaturbedi said. “We had to act as the DDC remained a mute spectator.”
The DDC says it has been made mandatory for all the 0contractors to express commitments in writing to not use any kind of machine in extracting sand from the river.
However, Contractors´ Association of Nepal has criticized the police´s move. “The use of machines is necessary. We can not extract sand with our hands,” Prakash Acharya, Baglung district president of the association, said. “If the act prohibits the use of machines, we should amend it.”
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