Nagpur: Vigilant tehsil admin recovers Rs 1.23 crore fine from sand mafia

CHANDRAPUR: Continuing its crackdown on illegal sand mining in the district, the tehsil administration has registered eight offences and recovered penalty to the tune of Rs1.23 crore from sand smugglers in the last one year.
Chandrapur tehsildar Nilesh Gaud said the administration has also seized 126 vehicles involved in ferrying sand excavated illegally.
With ghat auctions held-up for the last two years, smuggling of sand has increased in the district.Excavation of sand from the ghats is prohibited as the process of auctioning of the ghats is still underway at the administrative level. Taking advantage of this, sand mafia are involved in massive illegal mining and smuggling of the sand to cater to the growing need in construction activities.
There are seven sand ghats in Chandrapur tehsil and four are now eligible for auctioning. The bidding process will take place as soon as the government gives a nod.
Gaud formed special teams and carried out many raids to keep check on the illegal sand mining. While 87 vehicles were seized during raids last year, penalty amounting to Rs80.26 lakh was recovered from those involved in illegal excavation and transportation of sand, said Gaud. Moreover, auctioning the seized sand has earned additional Rs18.53 lakh for the government exchequer since September last year, he said.
This year, tehsil officials have seized 39 vehicles loaded with illegal sand and have recovered Rs43.41 lakh against it.
The seized sand was auctioned and Rs43,500 was earned through it. Tehsil office has filed five complaints for obstructing officials from performing duties in the same period.