The Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary to form a permanent committee of senior officials to monitor sensitive areas in Chennai where illegal sand mining is happening and act against such violators.
The direction came in a case related to allegations of illegal beach sand mining at the mouth of the Cooum near the Napier Bridge and in the coastal eco-sensitive zones CRZ-1 A and 1 B, where sand mining is prohibited under the CRZ Notifications, 2011 and 2019.
The Bench found from the reports submitted by the authorities that no permission was granted for mining in that area and the Water Resources Department was taking steps to channelise the mouth of the Coocum river that joins the Bay of Bengal to avoid flooding. On the other hand, the joint committee formed by the NGT submitted that even for dredging in CRZ-1 A and 1 B areas, clearance had to be obtained from the Coastal Zone Management Authority (CZMA).
