Cabinet approves sand-beds, soil management law 2010
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
FE Report
The cabinet Monday in principle decided to approve the 'Sand-beds and Soil Management Law 2010', to bring discipline in the largely unregulated sector and stop illegal extraction of sand from riverbeds.
The law prepared by the Ministry of Land was approved at the regular meeting of the cabinet division in the secretariat with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
The law - first such in the country - has provision for leasing out of sand-beds through open tender process instead of on royalty basis in order to ensure transparency and eliminate irregularities in the business, ministry officials said.
The law will bring the much-needed discipline in the largely unregulated sector, as some unscrupulous people continue to extract sand from dried up riverbeds in a haphazard manner overlooking the adverse impacts on biodiversity and the environment, said a ministry official.
"The new law will change the existing organisational frameworks and modes of extracting sand and conducting dredging activities," the official added.
The law prioritises the issue of endangering environment and its surroundings. It says sand can be extracted using specific dredgers provided the river banks are properly protected and are not exposed to erosion. It, however, bans the use of bulkhead dredgers.
Licencing system will be introduced to bring discipline in the sand extracting sector, the official said.
He said the law has also kept the provision for punishing people responsible for extracting sand illegally in order to stop wide practices of unregulated mining.
The law empowers the divisional commissioners to declare or annul an area as sand-bed on behalf of the Ministry of Land. It also decentralises power in division and district levels in declaring, annulling and leasing out of sand-beds.
The law also provides for forming committees at district, division and central levels in this regard.
The law empowers the Ministry of Land with the sole authority for extracting sand from the sand-beds for the purpose of marketing.
The 'Sand-beds and Soil Management Law 2010' also sets specific timeframe for disposing of appeals on sand-beds and soil management.
The cabinet Monday in principle decided to approve the 'Sand-beds and Soil Management Law 2010', to bring discipline in the largely unregulated sector and stop illegal extraction of sand from riverbeds.
The law prepared by the Ministry of Land was approved at the regular meeting of the cabinet division in the secretariat with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
The law - first such in the country - has provision for leasing out of sand-beds through open tender process instead of on royalty basis in order to ensure transparency and eliminate irregularities in the business, ministry officials said.
The law will bring the much-needed discipline in the largely unregulated sector, as some unscrupulous people continue to extract sand from dried up riverbeds in a haphazard manner overlooking the adverse impacts on biodiversity and the environment, said a ministry official.
"The new law will change the existing organisational frameworks and modes of extracting sand and conducting dredging activities," the official added.
The law prioritises the issue of endangering environment and its surroundings. It says sand can be extracted using specific dredgers provided the river banks are properly protected and are not exposed to erosion. It, however, bans the use of bulkhead dredgers.
Licencing system will be introduced to bring discipline in the sand extracting sector, the official said.
He said the law has also kept the provision for punishing people responsible for extracting sand illegally in order to stop wide practices of unregulated mining.
The law empowers the divisional commissioners to declare or annul an area as sand-bed on behalf of the Ministry of Land. It also decentralises power in division and district levels in declaring, annulling and leasing out of sand-beds.
The law also provides for forming committees at district, division and central levels in this regard.
The law empowers the Ministry of Land with the sole authority for extracting sand from the sand-beds for the purpose of marketing.
The 'Sand-beds and Soil Management Law 2010' also sets specific timeframe for disposing of appeals on sand-beds and soil management.