Definition

• Riverbed Sand Mining is the process of extracting sand directly from riverbeds, floodplains, and riverbanks for use in construction and other industries.

Causes

1. Rising Demand
   • Construction & infrastructure boom (roads, metro projects, real estate, Smart Cities).
   • Sand as a key raw material for cement, concrete, glass.
2. Economic Incentives
   • River sand is cheaper and better quality compared to manufactured sand (M-sand).
   • Lucrative profits drive the illegal “sand mafia.”
3. Governance Gaps
   • Sand = minor mineral, regulated by state governments (MMDR Act, 1957).
   • Weak enforcement, corruption, and political-criminal nexus.
   • Lack of uniform monitoring across states.
4. Accessibility
   • Shallow rivers, especially in dry season, make extraction easy.
   • Close proximity to urban centres reduces transport costs.

Impacts of Riverbed Sand Mining

1. Environmental Impacts
   • Hydrological Imbalance: Deeper riverbeds lower water tables → reduces groundwater recharge.
   • Riverbank Erosion: Destabilises channels, increases flood risks.
   • Delta Starvation: Reduced sediment flow to deltas → coastal erosion (Godavari, Cauvery, Mahanadi).
   • Biodiversity Loss: Decline of aquatic species (fish breeding, turtles, gharials, Gangetic dolphins).
   • Wetland & Riparian Ecosystem Damage: Alters natural floodplains, reduces fertility of adjoining agricultural land.
2. Socio-Economic Impacts
   • Fisherfolk & Farmer Distress: Loss of aquatic life and silt deposition harms traditional livelihoods.
   • Revenue Loss: Government loses huge revenues due to illegal sand trade.
   • Law & Order: Sand mafia linked with violence, attacks on police, journalists, and officials.
   • Rural Inequity: Benefits mafia and contractors, harms poor communities.
3. Climate & Disaster Risks
   • Flood Vulnerability: Altered channels increase destructive floods.
   • Drought Intensification: Lower groundwater recharge worsens summer scarcity

Legal and Policy Framework

• Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 – sand = minor mineral under state control.
• Sustainable Sand Mining Management Guidelines (SSMG), 2016 – scientific mining, replenishment studies.
• Enforcement & Monitoring Guidelines for Sand Mining (EMGSM), 2020 – drones, satellite imagery, IT-enabled transport permits.
• Supreme Court (Deepak Kumar vs State of Haryana, 2012) – made Environmental Clearance mandatory for even minor mineral mining.
• National Green Tribunal (NGT) – frequent interventions to stop illegal/unsustainable mining.

Alternatives

• M-Sand: Manufactured from crushed stones; increasingly popular in South India.
• Slag Sand: Byproduct of steel plants.
• Recycled Construction & Demolition (C&D) Waste: Environmentally sustainable, supported by Swachh Bharat Mission.
• Desert Sand (treated): With processing, can be used in cement.
• Imported Sand: States like Tamil Nadu imported sand from Malaysia (though costly).

Way Forward

• Scientific replenishment studies to set limits.
• Tech monitoring: drones, satellites, GPS, blockchain.
• Crackdown on mafia with strict enforcement.
• Promote substitutes via incentives & R&D.
• Community participation: Gram Sabhas, river committees.
• Uniform national framework with state flexibility.