mid-day special: How mafia turned the humble sand into a goldmine

Illegal sand mining is one of the most brazen rackets being run an open secret not only in Mumbai, but across India. The main reason the racket is growing and flourishing is simple sand is the building block for the construction industry and the mafia keep feeding off the growth in the real estate sector.

Thane: Fearing crackdown, sand miners move from Ulhas creek to Mumbra

Sand dredging going on between Kalwa and Mumbra. Pic/Datta Kumbhar

mid-day has been consistently reporting on the activities of the mafia and its possible links with those holding influential posts. On July 14, mid-day reported on the Sewri police arresting Gyaneshwar Pokde, a clerk from the Pen taluka tehsildar's office, for manipulating paperwork to aid the mafia.

The police had said that more arrests of top tehsildar officials were imminent (‘More heads may roll in Pen tehsildar office after Sewri sand seizure').

Feeding the beast
With Mumbai's hungry real-estate industry feeding the construction boom, sand-hungry developers depend on this mafia to give them quick deliveries at rates that are cheaper than the legal sources , giving it access to a huge market.

Also Read: Sand mafia destroying mangroves in Dahisar belt

Around 3,000 people, including truck owners, boat-owners and sand suppliers, squatted on the road near the Khareigaon toll naka, near Thane city, on Monday, demanding that the restrictions imposed on sand transportation be revoked by the government, and to protest against Thane District Collector Ashwini Joshi. The protesters were of the view that the ban on extraction of sand from the Kali river would create circumstances leading to flooding of low-lying areas in the area, besides depriving hundreds of families of their source of livelihood. Pic/Sameer Markande

Being the most essential raw material in the construction industry, sand is in huge demand not just in Mumbai, but all across the country. Over 100 trucks are loaded from Vasai, Virar, Vaitarna, Bhayander, Mahad, Rev Danda, Raigad, Kalyan, Dombivli, Mumbra, Bhiwandi and Thane, and transported to Mumbai and its outskirts daily.

The sand is usually sold per brass (a unit of measurement; 1 brass = 4,528 kg). Sand consignments brought from different parts of Maharashtra are kept at various reti bunders (sand godowns), from where they eventually make their way to construction companies.

Requesting anonymity, a person from the construction business added, "Sand is not brought to the construction site in the raw form as transporters have to get several permissions and documents to be able to do so. Nowadays, ready-mix is directly brought to the construction site. In some places, however, raw sand is still taken to the construction sites and mixed with cement there.

Also Read: Maharashtra to invoke MPDA Act against sand mafia, black marketers

Sand is very important for the construction industry as it is also used in making bricks and roads, apart from buildings." He added, "Earlier, legally mined sand used to be brought to the city from the Konkan region, Gujarat and Goa, but it costed a lot. Delivery of sand on time is also a huge problem and, therefore, builders prefer to buy sand from the mafia ."

What the law says
Depending on the quantity of sand to be dredged, an NOC is issued by the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB), and auction price of the sand is fixed. The auction is conducted by issuing a public notice, duly published in newspapers, as per the guidelines of the Mines and Minerals Act.

All these activities are controlled by the revenue authorities, and the MMB. The order for extraction of the sand is issued only after entire cost of the extraction of sand is paid by the contractor. In areas where it is necessary to remove sand for clearance of navigation channels, the MMB survey is the basis for identification of the slots reserved for the dredging.

The permission of the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority is required for extraction of sand for mechanical dredging and it is sought on basis of an Environmental Impact Assessment study, after obtaining permission of the MMB.

A few years ago, sand mining was completely banned, but the ban was lifted due to loss of government revenue and demands and pressure from construction giants. Illegal sand mining is also expressly prohibited along coastal areas, which fall under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ). Punishment for sand mining without permission is imprisonment up to two years and fine up to Rs 30,000.

Of late, the state government has been taking measures to curb the sand mafia and take tough action. Maharashtra will now charge the sand mafia under the stringent Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act and repeated offenders will be charged under the draconian MCOCA.