Will be valid for a period of five years

The State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) has granted environment clearance for 11 more sand quarries in the Cauvery-Coleroon river basin. A few days ago, the SEIAA had granted clearance for 10 new sand quarries in Tiruchi, Karur, Ariyalur, Nagapattinam, Thanjavur and Namakkal districts. In the second batch of clearance, 11 quarries have been approved, sources told The Hindu on Friday.

The High Court on Tuesday directed the government to stop the sand business on the banks of the Shitalakkhya in Narayanganj and the Turag in Mirpur within three days.

The Madras High Court has permitted 10 sand quarries on the Cauvery-Coleroon river beds to continue its operations for a further period of two months.

PANJIM: The Bombay High Court at Goa took suo moto cognizance of illegal sand mining in Goa and asked the government to file an affidavit by November 26, on the action it has taken against the illegalities involved in the business.

The bench of Justices S J Vazifdar and F M Reis had taken suo moto cognizance of illegal sand mining in river beds in the state and sent notices to the chief secretary and the department of mines and geology.

Both nations were planning to strike a deal last year, to ship sand to Maldives, which risks being inundated if the sea level rises by even one metre

A plan that hailed Bangladesh as the “Good Samaritan” of Asia, rescuing more than 328,000 Maldivians from being climate refugees seems to be shelved by both the countries now. Both Bangladesh and the Maldives were planning to strike a deal last year, to ship sand to the island nation, which is facing a threat of being inundated if the sea level rises by even one metre.

Ferozepur: Notwithstanding measures claimed to have been undertaken by the administration to check illegal mining of sand, the process continues unabated Ferozepur.

The 7,000-km long Indian coastline that is home to 30 per cent of the country’s population faces a huge threat from unbridled sand mining and commercial coastal activity.

“In AP, the Nellore and Godavari coast is threatened by these mafias who take away large quantities of vital sea sand by using mechanised devices,” said Prof B.C. Choudhary of the Wildlife Institute of India.

Villagers of Gopalapuram registered their protest against sand quarrying in their vicinity on Wednesday.

Three advocate commissioners confirm several irregularities pointed out by PIL petitioner

The Madras High Court Bench here on Monday passed an interim injunction restraining the Public Works Department (PWD) from mining sand “illegally” on Vaigai riverbed in Sithargal Natham and Villampatti in Nilakottai taluk of Dindigul district. A Division Bench comprising Justice P.P.S. Janarthana Raja and Justice M. Duraiswamy granted the injunction following a public interest litigation petition filed by P. Kottaisamy (64), former chairman of Nilakottai Panchayat Union, through his counsel N. Dilip Kumar in August.

A proposal to classify river courses in the State into various eco-zones for their conservation and management is getting ready.

This forms part of the guidelines prepared by the Department of Environment and Climate Change for the conservation and protection of river systems in the State. The eco-zones, it is proposed, will be demarcated based on the climatic and geomorphic features of each course, the extent of its degradation, and the scope for its restoration. Permissible activities will be notified for each zone.