River policy to check irregularities along rivers proposed

The government has proposed bringing out a river policy to check illegal constructions, sand mining and depletion of underground water along the river course in the State.

Addressing presspersons here on Friday, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T. B. Jayachandra said several rivers have disappeared in the recent years owing to encroachment of lands, illegal cultivation of lands and constructions.

The course of several rivers had changed owing to unchecked sand extraction. The new policy would rejuvenate existing rivers and safeguard the river courses by removing encroachments. In fact, the River Board Act had been in force before the re-organisation of States in 1956 but States had not shown commitment to implement it, he said.

A Bill to frame the policy would be tabled during the Budget session of the State legislature scheduled to commence from March 13, he said.

States such as Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi, had already passed legislation to implement the river policy to safeguard river systems.