The government has issued a notification to implement the sand policy aimed at checking illegal sand extraction across the State.
It has notified remittance of 25 per cent of the revenue collected from sand users to gram panchayats and the rest to the State exchequer.
Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T.B. Jayachandra told presspersons here on Wednesday that sand extraction would be allowed between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., except for loading and unloading activities. The new rules ban deploying machinery for sand extraction.
The Public Works Department in all districts would deal with sand extraction, transportation, storage and disposal through mineral dispatch permit at the rates specified by the district committee.
The amended Karnataka Minor Mineral Concession Rules has provisions for constitution of both taluk- and district-level committees to oversee sand extraction activities.
The committees are empowered to fix sand price for a cubit metre after taking note of royalty, taxes, if any, expenses towards extraction, transportation, storage and disposal of sand, and any other unforeseen expenses, by a resolution from time to time.
Mr. Jayachandra said the assistant commissioner would head the taluk committee and the deputy commissioner would head the district committee. The committees were also empowered to book cases against any violation of the rules, he said.
With the notification of the draft rules to the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act 1957, a Central legislation, the entire process of extraction, transportation and storage of sand would get streamlined, the Minister said.
The previous BJP government had announced the sand policy in a hurry without framing rules and this gave room for rampant illegal sand extraction, he said.
