The NGT October 14 directed a fresh district survey report (DSR) for sand mining in Banka district of Bihar.

An application filed in the NGT said that an interim district survey report (DSR) was prepared for sand mining in Banka district in the year 2018 but that was never finalized.

In addition to preparation of a fresh DSR, the NGT said that the DSR must be prepared through consultants accredited by the National Accreditation Board of Education and Training/ Quality Control Council of India. The DSR so prepared should be submitted to the District Magistrate who would verify the DSR only in respect of the relevant facts pertaining to the physical and geographical features of the district. After such verification, the District Magistrate would forward the DSR for examination and evaluation by the State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC).

The SEAC after appraisal of the report would forward it to the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) for consideration and approval - if it meets all scientific/technical requirements. While preparing the DSR, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) accredited agency/consultant must "scrupulously follow the procedure and the parameters laid down under the SSMMG-2016 and EMGSM-2020 read in sync with each other," the order added.