Though more than seven weeks had passed since the State government gave its nod for extraction of sand from patta land or private agricultural land alongside the river in Nanjangud near here, as a “special case” to tide over the scarcity of sand, authorities are still grappling with the challenge of establishing ownership records of the 40 acres identified for extraction.
“There are several owners for land parcels that constitute the 40 acres of land in Toremavu and Immavu villages of Nanjangud taluk, although it is a contiguous block of land. While one person owns three acres, another may own only half an acre. We not only need the consent of the owners, but also have to establish the title of ownership of the land before beginning extraction,” Lingaraju, senior geologist of the Mines and Geology Department, Mysuru, told The Hindu .
The Mysuru District Sand Monitoring Committee, which has to take the identified land on rent or temporary lease and hand it over to the Public Works Department (PWD), has managed to secure the consent of half of the owners of the land and establish their ownership. “The process is still continuing. We will not be able to take up extraction on the parcels of land if the owners refuse consent. It is also very important to identify the owners as it involves monetary transaction,” he added.
While permitting extraction of sand from patta land, the government made it clear that extraction rights will not be given to land owners. These rights will be vested with the District Sand Monitoring Committee, headed by the Deputy Commissioner and including officials from various departments like Mines and Geology, PWD, Revenue, Police, etc.
The committee will take the land on rent and hand it over to the PWD, which will extract sand and make arrangements for its storage and distribution. The owners of patta land will be given a lump sum or an amount fixed for every cubic feet of sand extracted from the land.
The officials are wary of landing into litigation. “If the relatives of owners, claiming shares in the land, stake claim over the amount to be paid by the government, we will land in a soup,” an official said.
Only after ownership is established and consent obtained, will authorities be able to seek the mandatory environmental clearance from the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA).
However, samples of sand from the patta land had already been subjected to laboratory tests and were found to be suitable for construction.
