Dimapur: In a significant move to protect the environment and public infrastructure, Dimapur Deputy Commissioner Tinojongshi Chang on Wednesday imposed a complete ban on the use of heavy machinery for extracting sand, gravel, boulders, and other riverbed materials within Nagaland’s Dimapur district without the required permissions and licences.
The order cited the indiscriminate use of heavy machinery in riverbed mining as a major cause of environmental degradation, biodiversity loss, ecosystem disruption, water contamination and damage to agricultural activities.
It noted that such activities have adversely affected the structural integrity of roads, bridges, culverts, railway infrastructure and irrigation channels.
According to the order, unregulated riverbed mining has increased the risk of riverbank erosion, landslides and other natural disasters, lowered groundwater levels, reduced water availability for drinking and irrigation, and disrupted the natural flow of sediments, posing serious threats to aquatic ecosystems, public safety and the livelihoods of local communities.
The order stated that such activities violate the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and Rules 49 and 50 of the Nagaland Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 2004.
It added that mining operations carried out without valid permits or licences will be treated as illegal.
The Deputy Commissioner directed that the extraction of riverbed materials using heavy machinery will be permitted only after obtaining approvals under the Nagaland (Ownership and Transfer of Land and Its Resources) Act, 1990, the Nagaland Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 2004, and all other applicable statutory requirements.
He warned that any individual, group, firm or organisation found violating the order would face penal action under the relevant provisions of law.
To ensure strict enforcement, a monitoring team comprising officials from the district administration, police, the Geology and Mining Department, the Forest Department, representatives of civil society organisations, and village, municipal and town councils will oversee compliance with the order.