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Sand mining refers to the extraction of natural sand and sand resources, including mineral sands and aggregates, from various environments such as terrestrial, riverine, coastal, or marine areas. This process is carried out to obtain valuable minerals, metals, crushed stone, sand, and gravel for further processing. Driven by multiple factors, sand mining poses significant risks to ecosystems and communities.

Illegal Sand Mining Consequences for Ecosystems, Groundwater, and Coastal Communities

• Ecosystem Damage: Sand mining damages the ecosystem of rivers and the safety of bridges, weakens riverbeds, destroys natural habitats of organisms living on riverbeds, affects fish breeding and migration, and increases saline water in the rivers.
• Enforcement Issues: Lack of enforcement for sand-mining regulations and insufficient subsidy programs for affected communities detrimentally impact coastal welfare.
• Sand Mafia: The sand mafia, a network of criminal syndicates that illegally mine sand, has proven especially destructive, with attempts to curtail their behavior often leading to violent altercations.
• Flood Risk: Beaches, dunes, and sandbanks act as barriers to flooding. When sand mining removes such barriers, areas near the sea or river become more prone to flooding.
• Delta Shrinkage: This has resulted in the shrinking of the delta regions of these rivers, leaving local people extremely vulnerable to floods, land loss, contaminated drinking water, and crop damage.

• A recent study by the World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) shows mining is responsible for a 90% drop in sediment levels in major Asian rivers, including the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Meghna, Mekong, and Yangtze.

• Stream Stability Loss: Sand mining leads to loss of stability in stream channels, threatening the survival of native species adapted to pre-mining habitat conditions.
• Groundwater Depletion: Deep pits formed due to sand mining can cause a drop in the groundwater table. This in turn affects local drinking water wells, leading to water scarcity in surrounding areas.

Way Forward: Alternatives, Technology, and Regulation to Combat Illegal Sand Mining

• Reduce Natural Sand Consumption: According to UNEP, minimizing the use of natural sand in construction by adopting alternatives is crucial.
• Promote Manufactured and Artificial Sand: Encourage the use of manufactured sand, artificial sand, and fly ash to lower the demand for natural sand.
• Centralize Regulation: Move the regulation of sand mining from State Governments to the Centre for uniform guidelines and control.
• Adopt Advanced Technologies: Utilize satellite imagery, drones, GPS tracking, bar coding, and remote sensing for real-time monitoring of mining activities. For Example: Odisha Government developed an integrated mines and mineral management system portal to regulate mining electronically.

• Enhance Regulation Enforcement: Make existing mining regulations more stringent and enforce them effectively. Example: Bihar gov. established permanent check posts at vulnerable locations to combat illegal sand mining.

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