Bombay high court okays Raigad sand dredging

The Bombay high court has allowed the state government to award a contract for mechanical sand dredging in the bed of the Kalandi river in Raigad.

However, the dredging can go on only till July 31, 2011. The decision is significant as the high court had last year imposed a statewide ban on sand extraction from river beds, affecting construction.

On January 10, the high court had stayed the awarding of the contract for the 4.5-km stretch for mechanical sand dredging while hearing a public interest litigation filed by the Matsya va Raeti Vyavasaik Sevabhavi Saunstha, Dasgaon, an association of fisher folks also engaged in manual sand dredging in Raigad. The Saunstha had challenged a government resolution dated October 25, 2010, which adversely affected the fisher folks.

Vacating its earlier stay, a division bench of chief justice Mohit Shah and justice SJ Vazifdar on Wednesday asked the government to decide if dredging at 24 other plots on the Kalandi and Savitri rivers should be carried out through auctions or through the permit system. For years, the local hatpadis (fisher folks), have been manually dredging sand through the permit system.

The fisher folks have been asked to make a representation before the revenue department within two weeks. The government has been asked to take a decision expeditiously on the dredging process for the remaining 24 plots.

Gayatri Singh and Kranti LC, advocates for the fisher folks, opposed the awarding of contracts, saying that the petitioners would lose their livelihood.

“They anyway had to give up fishing because of water pollution caused by nearby industries,” said Singh. Fisher folks were forced to shift to manual sand excavation after large scale industrialisation in 1992-93 resulted in waste being drained into the river, affecting their catch.

Additional government pleader Vijay Patil said that the contract would be awarded for hardly six months. “The licence for dredging is given for a year beginning August every year and is valid till July 31. This year, though, six months have already lapsed. There is a shortage of sand, and the prices have already gone up,” he said.

Justice Vazifdar remarked that the government will have to consider the problem of the locals, as their livelihood depends on manual sand excavation.

“The entire community will be affected. If the auction system continues, it (dredging) will go in the hands of a few people,” he said.