Draft law to stop illegal sand lifting finalised
Saturday, 17 April 2010
Fazlur Rahman
The government has finalised the draft of 'Sand-beds and Soil Management Law 2010' to stop illegal extraction of sand from river beds.
The Ministry of Land has prepared the law with a view to bringing the much-needed discipline into the largely unregulated sector, as some unscrupulous people have continued to extract sand from dried up riverbeds in a haphazard manner overlooking the adverse impacts on biodiversity and environment, officials said.
The proposed law - expected to be presented at the Monday's Cabinet meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair for approval - has kept the provision of leasing of the sand-beds through open tender process instead of royalty.
"The new law has been prepared to bring amendment to the existing organisational frameworks and modes in extracting sand and conducting dredging activities," said a ministry official.
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 bulk-head dredgers.
Licence system will be introduced to bring discipline into the sand extracting sector, the draft law says.
Officials said the law has also kept the provision for punishing people responsible for extracting sand illegally in order to stop wide practices of unregulated extraction.
The law empowers the divisional commissioners to declare or annul an area as sand-beds on behalf of the Ministry of Land. It also decentralises power in division and district levels in declaring, annulling and leasing of any sand-beds.
The law also kept provisions for forming committees at district, division and central levels.
The proposed law entitles the Ministry of Land as the sole authority in extracting sands 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 in regards to sand-beds and soil management.
The government has finalised the draft of 'Sand-beds and Soil Management Law 2010' to stop illegal extraction of sand from river beds.
The Ministry of Land has prepared the law with a view to bringing the much-needed discipline into the largely unregulated sector, as some unscrupulous people have continued to extract sand from dried up riverbeds in a haphazard manner overlooking the adverse impacts on biodiversity and environment, officials said.
The proposed law - expected to be presented at the Monday's Cabinet meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair for approval - has kept the provision of leasing of the sand-beds through open tender process instead of royalty.
"The new law has been prepared to bring amendment to the existing organisational frameworks and modes in extracting sand and conducting dredging activities," said a ministry official.
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 bulk-head dredgers.
Licence system will be introduced to bring discipline into the sand extracting sector, the draft law says.
Officials said the law has also kept the provision for punishing people responsible for extracting sand illegally in order to stop wide practices of unregulated extraction.
The law empowers the divisional commissioners to declare or annul an area as sand-beds on behalf of the Ministry of Land. It also decentralises power in division and district levels in declaring, annulling and leasing of any sand-beds.
The law also kept provisions for forming committees at district, division and central levels.
The proposed law entitles the Ministry of Land as the sole authority in extracting sands 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 in regards to sand-beds and soil management.