Env group opposes digital public hearings for sand ghat auction

Nagpur: In a move that has not gone down well with environmentalists, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has started conducting public hearing regarding auctioning of sand ghats across Vidarbha on digital platforms. According to experts, such hearings are not just against the norms but also deprive participation of crucial stakeholders.

As per the given information, the board carried out a public hearing of 34 sand ghats in Chandrapur district on Wednesday at Niyojan Bhawan through a mobile application.

Members of city’s Vidarbha Environmental Action Group raised strong objections against the procedure, stating it was in violation of law.

“Conducting public hearing on digital platforms is not laid down in the notification issued by the ministry of environment, forests and climate change. A majority of citizens, especially important stakeholders and affected people like fishermen, are not techno savvy and do not have competence and facility to use digital platform. They are being deprived of their legitimate and fundamental right of freedom of expression by not being able to participate in the hearing,” the group stated in a complaint written to the board and Chandrapur’s mining officer.

Convener of the group and environment activist Sudhir Paliwal informed that in the coming week, similar public hearings for sand ghats in Gadchiroli, Nagpur, Osmanabad, Yavatmal, Wardha and Gondia are to be conducted.

“What is the point in holding virtual meetings when the most affected people can’t participate? MPCB is making complete mockery of laws by showing an urgency in giving clearances to projects which are detrimental for the environment,” said Paliwal.

TOI could not contact the concerned MPCB officials.

In the complaint, the organization further highlighted other objections to the proposed project. “Sand and gravel together known as aggregate, represent the highest volume of raw material used on earth after water. At present, the mining of sand has reached a level which is threatening the environment and ecosystem. It is recommended that sand mining should be done only after sound scientific assessment and adopting best practices to limit the impact on the environment. However such guidelines are rarely followed,” the group stated.

Stating that the sand mining in Chandrapur district is unsustainable and will severely impact the flow of rivers across the district, the group stated, “Removal of sand would also lead to an increase in water pollution and impact biodiversity. Sand mining will alter the river bed, force the river to change course, erode banks and lead to flooding.”

It added that rivers are a major source of drinking water in Chandrapur and sand mining will pollute the river water leading to water quality deterioration thereby depriving large population from safe drinking water.

For the hearing in Chandrapur, only a handful of people could reach the venue due to the lockdown and register their protest. “Many who wanted to participate could not log in due to technical defect in acceptance of pass word, their complaint was also ignored by additional collector who chaired the public hearing panel. It was also pointed out to him that the password printed on the flex board displayed at the venue was also wrong which resulted in non participation by many persons. In short the public hearing was grossly mismanaged and was conducted just to complete the formalities,” said Paliwal.