‘Grave risk to lives, danger of floods’: Gupta to U.P. CM over illegal mining along Yamuna

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Monday wrote to her Uttar Pradesh counterpart, Yogi Adityanath, requesting his intervention in stopping illegal sand mining along the Yamuna floodplains.

Ms. Gupta said that the mining activities, which include diverting the flow of the river and altering the river bed, along the river in areas close to the inter-State border are causing “irreparable ecological damage” with the potential to wreak “grave harm to life and property”.

“Due to this illegal mining, the embankments of Yamuna are getting weakened, which also creates the danger of floods,” the Delhi CM wrote. She also shared the concerns raised by the National Green Tribunal over the issue. “The tribunal has already underlined the urgent need for regulatory enforcement and inter-State coordination on the matter,” said the Delhi CM.

‘24×7 vigil’

The NGT had earlier this year constituted a committee to look into the allegations of illegal sand mining in Ghaziabad. The panel had recommended that the U.P. Mining Department keep vigil over the Yamuna floodplains 24×7. “Stringent action should be taken against any persons found carrying out illegal mining using heavy machinery and boats near the river and obstructing the flow of the river,” the committee told the NGT, as per an order dated April 30.

In an order on January 27 regarding a “clear case of illegal mining” in U.P.’s Shamli, the NGT had remarked that upon the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board’s “very casual approach” towards the issue and imposed a cost of ₹10,000 on the statutory body.

‘Spurt in cases’

The Delhi CM requested Mr. Adityanath to direct his officials to initiate a “joint inter-State demarcation process” to clearly define jurisdictional boundaries so that the “ecological balance of the area can be effectively protected by the coordinated efforts” of the two governments. She also called for the establishment of a “joint enforcement mechanism” to effectively curb the illegal activities.

A statement from Ms. Gupta’s office stated that senior Delhi government officials have been flagging an increase in illegal mining activities along the river with their counterparts in U.P.

“On this issue, top officials in Delhi have been continuously corresponding with senior officials in the concerned areas of Uttar Pradesh and conveyed information about the menace of illegal sand mining increasing along the Yamuna river, especially in and around the jurisdiction falling under the boundary of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh,” read a statement from the Delhi CM’s Office.