Track2Realty: Describing the National Green Tribunal (NGT) populist ban in sand mining as arbitrary and anti growth , developer’s apex body CREDAI Chairman Lalit Kumar Jain has threatened that the developer community is considering appropriate legal options to challenge the order. The nationwide stay on sand mining from river beds by the NGT adds to the ever increasing burden on the real estate industry.
Jain said it is shocking that NGT thinks sand mining causes floods in rivers. Silting, on the contrary, allows free flow of rivers and prevents floods.
“Sand is one of the most essential inputs for any construction. Planners, while issuing building permissions must also assess the requirement of material like sand or metal. The ban might serve the populist purpose, but it is a retrograde move as it harms the nation’s growth,” he said.
“I do not think it is proper for any authority to pass orders without giving opportunity to concerned parties like the developer community. The ban will also increase result in sand smuggling add to the growth of sand mafia, instead curbing it. One most important point that one has to remember is that plaster quality particularly in urban areas and coastal cities like Mumbai is worsening by the day because of non availability of quality river sand. It is common knowledge that the use of sand mine with mud and pollutants from the creek are adversely affecting the quality of construction,” he added.
It is also responsibility of the district collectors to issue permission for sand mining to match the requirement of the construction industry, for which they issue certificates. The ban will lead to delays in project completion, thereby increasing the cost by threefold as it will have to be imported from countries such as Pakistan and Cambodia to bridge the shortfall in supplies.
Besides realty sector, sand is an important ingredient in infrastructure projects like mass rapid transit systems and metro projects. It is also a primary constituent in core sector projects such as power plants.
He said as it is the industry unduly burdened with the huge increase in sand prices over the past three years. Instead of forcefully banning, the government must focus on finding alternative solutions in the nation’s interest.
