PANJIM: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) will hear on November1, Friday the plea of Goa government for seeking exemption from the nationwide ban on sand mining.

The State government in its affidavit filed before the NGT earlier last month has requested the court to exempt Goa from the ban on sand extraction, as an effective regulatory mechanism for sand removal has been put in place. An NGT order dated August 14, 2013, had banned sand extraction across the country.