A meeting chaired by Krishna Hari Baskota, secretary at OPMCM, recently directed secretaries of the concerned ministries to form a joint committee under the joint secretary of the Ministry of Environment to assess impact of excavation on environment and to recommend measures for regulating exports of sand and aggregates.
The meeting was attended by the secretaries at Ministries of Environment, Science and Technology; Ministry of Commerce and Supplies; Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation; Ministry of Industry; and Ministry of Local Development.[break]
The committee has also been asked to suggest the government measures to preserve natural resources, conserve Chure area and fix excavation limit.
“I have instructed all the six ministries to come up with joint recommendations within 15 days. We will take necessary decisions after studying the recommendations,” Baskota told Republica on Sunday.
Amid rising concern about environmental impact of excessive excavation, the Supreme Court ordered the government two and a half years ago to regulate excavation of sand and aggregates.
The Natural Resources Committee of the then legislature-parliament had also intervened into the issue, ordering the government to regulate the exports by conducting Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) of excavation works.
Despite this, export of sand and aggregates had resumed after 8-9 months.
“Despite the apex court´s direction, nothing could be done for the past two and half years. That is why we have decided to seek suggestions from the concerned ministries,” said Baskota.
Around 2,000 truckloads of sands and aggregates are exported to India every day, according to conservative estimates.
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