Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Apr 12: The 'sand storm' faced by the people of Dakshina Kannada in the last two months is the best example to show how apathy and ignorance on the part of those in power can bring misery and hardships to the people. In the last two months the people of this coastal district are facing problems due to shortage/unavailability of sand. This is only because of the insincere, insensitive, irresponsible and lethargic attitude of some government departments, officials and district administration which has been primarily responsible for the logjam.

The construction industry has come to a standstill in the last two-and-a-half months in the district and along with that many other sectors which are dependent on the construction industry for their survival have also stalled their activities completely. Just days ago, the district in charge Minister Ramanatha Rai assured that the problem has been solved and situation will be back to normal within two days. He also warned that stringent action would be taken against all those involved in illegal mining or those who go against the laws. While evaluating the various factors which are primarily responsible for the sand crisis the problem has its roots much deeper and is with far reaching ramifications and it is not as easy as giving an assurance.

President of Builders Association of Mangalore Sudesh Kumar points out that "the laxity on the part of the district administration headed by the DC is primarily responsible for the problems faced by the people of the district. The Mines and Geology department official sent vital papers to Bengaluru by post and they reached the office after the expiry of the special committee that was authorised to renew the licence. This is nothing but a clear and wanton disregard to the welfare of the people and the development of the district and heads should roll for their inanity."

Mayur Ullal, president of Sand Transport Union also echoes similar views. "By January 21 we had submitted all necessary documents to the department – the Mayya Report, Expert Committee Report, District CRZ Committee report and other necessary documents. These should have reached the Bengaluru office in advance to include in the agenda for their meeting held on January 31. But for the bad luck of the people of this district the department did not take the matter seriously and we all landed in this soup."

According to reliable information, special committee's term got extended due to the proactive role played by affected stake-holders. They met Union Minister for Environment Prakash Javadekar and the committee has now given the much required environment clearance, thus crossing a major hurdle. Now the district sand monitoring committee will hold a meeting and issue permits. It is expected that it will take another week for the situation to come to normalcy. However, conflicting reports emanating from different departments and the blame game that goes gives a picture that the situation is not going to be what it was prior to the blanket ban that came into force in January this year. However, it is time the people ask the district administration, district in charge minister and the Mines and Geology Department why such an impasse was created in the first place.

The crux of the problem

Those who believed that sand is available in abundance and at an affordable rate in the coastal districts of Karnataka got a shock recently following the complete ban that was force upon the sand miners of the twin districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi. Prohibition to mining sand was introduced following the expiry of the licence/clearance given by the Union Environment Minister on January 16. Despite the fact that the expiry of the permit was due to the negligence and laid-back attitude of the concerned departments and officials, the district administration was quick and strict to enforce the ban on sand mining for reasons best known to them. Udupi district was not greatly affected because there the district administration was more lenient and sand mining ban was not strictly implemented. It is not that the department or officials of Mangalore were caught unawares of the hardships faced by the people due to the shortage of sand. It was very much seized o the matter many months in advance. In July 2015, Civil Contractors Association of Mangalore had held a protest and demonstration decrying the apathy of the district administration to arrange sand after it had banned sand mining from rivers in the CRZ limits.

Sand minding in the coastal districts has two zones namely CRZ and non-CRZ. The CRZ area includes river beds and in Dakshina Kannada this zone extends up to Tumbe and the area beyond that comes under non-CRZ zone. While non-CRZ zones do not have stringent environment issues the CRZ zone is governed by strict laws. After the Supreme Court ordered banning of sand mining from river beds and prosecuting those involved in it without valid licence the district administration had banned CRZ sand mining without making alternative arrangements for sand availability. That had prompted contractors to hold protest march against the district administration in June last year.

Due to strict laws CRZ sand mining licence has to be renewed every year and the licence given to the district expired on January 16, 2016. The files relating to this should have reach Bangalore much in advance and CREDAI chapter of Mangalore and the Builders Association of Mangalore was constantly reminding the district administration, district in charge minister and officials on the exigency of getting the licence renewed. Now the district administration must have had the last laugh for 'teaching' the builder community a lesson for pointing fingers at them earlier, for their ignorance resulting in hardships to the people.

As a result of the shortage of sand, construction activity almost came to a grinding halt and price of one load of sand sky rocketed from Rs 3,000 to Rs 17,000. Those affected by this shortage are especially individual home builders and builders and all those involved in construction activities. The poor and the lower middle class people are greatly affected because the only reasonably cheap construction material available for them was sand, especially sand from CRZ zone which is cheaper than the sand from the non-costal regulation zone (CRZ). D B Mehta, builder and promoter and also the President of Mangalore chapter of CREDAI opines that the sand crisis has jeopardised the housing plans of all the independent home builders. "Usually those who independent homes plan their house warming or shifting during vacation without hindering the academic routine of their children. Apart from this the spiralling price of sand has put a burden on the poor people who plan their homes with limited budget. Some of them have been forced to go for low quality sand to meet the shortage and control the housing budget," Mehta pointed out. He also said the builder community also has been facing a critical time due to the shortage of sand.

PWD model not suitable

Even as the district administration is embroiled in the mess which has been its own creation the government has sent another shocker by planning to introduce the PWD model of sand distribution. This model is prevalent in the state in districts which don't have its own sand and are dependent on sand from the coastal districts. However, introducing this method of distribution of sand is unscientific and would increase the cost of the sand two fold. As per PWD distribution system the miners have to transport the sand to the stockyards of PWD and stock it there. Buyers have to go to the stockyard of PWD with the copy of licence and with the truck and get the sand they require. This will double the cost because people will have to pay for cost of loading and unloading incurred by miners to the stockyard and the same process has to repeated when individual buyers buy from the PWD.

In the PWD distribution system individual owners have to go to the stockyard with a copy of the licence granted to build their house and with the truck to get the sand from the stockyard. Knowing the corruption prevalent in PWD this policy will give an additional wing for the PWD to indulge in more corruption.

The first priority for getting sand in such a system is for individual home builders and then to the builders and developers. D B Mehta points out that this system has its inherent drawbacks because individual home builders can buy any amount of sand and sell it to builders as there is no moratorium on how much sand they can procure. Further most of the stockyards will be closer to the mining area and out of the city adding to the burden. Mayur Ulla says that the government has created confusion and compounded it by introducing uniform sand policy to the entire state. "The coastal districts of Mangalore, Udupi and Northa Kanara should have a separate policy just like it was there prior to 2011. Uniform sand policy for the entire state has led to chaos."

The other side of the story

Shortage of sand in Dakshina Kannada has created quite a sand storm and the development agenda of the district has completely frozen. Sources which do not want to be quoted say that though the district administration was very 'stringent' when it comes to banning sand mining in CRZ area after the licence expired, illegal mining and activities of the sand mafia went about its task unhindered. Sources also say that though the people of the district faced severe problems illegal sand transportation to Kerala and Bengaluru thrived. It is believed that about 400 loads of illegal sand is transported to Bengaluru everyday under the cover of darkness and another 200 loads to Kerala. Sources also say that this goes on with the active connivance of the district administration and other officials. Fingers are also pointed out at district in charge minister for his involvement or being a part of the sand mafia. It is said that the Police Commissioner Chandra Sekar has been quite stern and trying his best to put a brake on this illegal activity and has succeeded in it to a certain extent.

Apart from complaints of illegal transportation those who travel to Bangalore via Sakleshpura point out that about 10,000 load of sand has been stockpiled near Sakleshpur where the Yettinahole project is going on. When the builders and people of the district are suffering and construction activity has been completely stalled, work on Yettinahole project goes on unimpeded. Anil Lobo, an architect pointed out "on my way back from Bengaluru I stopped at Sakleshpur to see what is going on. There is a huge stockpile of sand and work on Yettinahole goes on in full swing. But in Mangaluru we were forced to completely stop all construction activities.

Ending the stalemate

At a crisis like this, our elected representatives should have played a proactive role. The builder community is completed shocked by the apathetic behaviour of the MPs, MLAs and ministers when the district faced such a huge problem. It is said that only J R Lobo saved the situation to the people of the district by working overtime as a damage control measure. But enough damage has been done in the two and half months and the damage has come at a huge cost to the people, to the builder community and to the entire development process. J R Lobo who held marathon meetings with all the concerned says to find a solution points out that a little more alertness on the part of the officials could have completely averted the situation.

D B Mehta says that now the major demand of the builders is to permit proper mining in CR zone as early as possible and to completely stop illegal sand transport to Kerala and Bangalore. "It is ironical why we have to send sand to Bangalore causing harm to our environment, to the western ghats and to the fish progeny in the area", he asks. Mayur Ullal says the government should introduce a separate sand policy to coastal districts to end the standoff and the PWD model of sand transportation is not realistic to the coastal districts.

The stalemate might come to an end as assured by the district in charge minister in a few days. However, it is time the responsibility is fixed on those causing inconvenience, loss of money, valuable time, energy and agony caused to the people due to the indolence and slipshod attitude. Unless responsibility is fixed and heads get rolled the sand mafia will rule the roost with the active connivance of people in power who dance to their tunes for monetary and political gains.