Deputy Commissioner V.P. Ikkeri has said that the district administration has submitted a fresh proposal to the Secretary of the Department of Forests, Ecology and Environment seeking nod to take up sand extraction from 15 additional blocks of the district.
Of the 32 blocks identified in the district, the department had accorded permission to undertake sand extraction from 17 blocks. As the remaining sand blocks were located close to the places identified by the Kasturirangan Committee for the Conservation of Western Ghats, permission for sand extraction was denied. Mr. Ikkeri told presspersons here on Thursday that a large volume of sand was deposited in the block located on the banks of the Tunga at Mahishi village. The permission to lift sand here has been denied, while sand extraction is allowed at Dabbanagadde village located nearby.
The district-level task force on sand has sent a fresh proposal seeking permission to lift sand in the remaining 15 blocks as well, he said.
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Mr. Ikkeri said the State government had agreed to release Rs. 6 crore to upgrade the approach roads to sand stockyards at Dabbanagadde, Munduvalli, Hunasavalli and Baggodige villages in Tirthahalli taluk. The roadworks would commence soon, he said.