The government has imposed a total ban on sand-mining from six rivers and restricted mining from five rivers for the next three years. The decision is based on the sand audit report of 11 rivers in the State prepared by various agencies.
According to the order issued by the Revenue Department, sand-mining will not be permitted from the Neyyar and Vamanapuram rivers in Thiruvananthapuram district, Kallada river in Kollam, Kuttiyadi river in Kozhikode, Kabani river in Wayanad, and Chandragiri river in Kasaragod for three years. Restricted sand-mining will be allowed in the Chaliyar river flowing through Malappuram and Kozhikode, Pampa in Pathanamthitta, Kadalundy in Kozhikode, Ithikkara in Kollam, and Periyar in Ernakulam district. Extraction of sand would be allowed only in a phased manner and the mineable sand quantity would be revised based on a subsequent sand audit.
District Collectors have been asked to implement the order.
