A city modeled on the lines of Singapore and a showcase of India’s economic might, could be washed out if adequate care is not taken now. Situated bang next to Delhi, UP’s Gautam Buddha Nagar district is the latest scene of frenzied illegal sand mining raising the specter of devastating flash floods in the Yamuna.
The illegal goings on under the direct tutelage of the administration-police-mafia nexus has led to such vast soil erosion along a 60-kilometre stretch called the Yamuna Khadar on the banks of the river, that on the Noida-Greater Noida side of the embankment, Yamuna has moved away nearly 500 metres away from Haryana towards UP.
Environmentalists believe that in the eventuality of floods, large scale damage could be wreaked on the Gautam Buddha district, its residents and fauna as the river is certain to change its course, thanks to illegal and large scale mining which go against standing orders of even the Supreme Court. The Yamuna enters UP from Delhi through the Okhla barrage and traverses nearly 60 kilometres of Gautam Buddha Nagar district which comprise the modern business hubs of Noida and Greater Noida, both designed as showcases to attract Indian and foreign investors. Both areas are home to leading multinational companies and have emerged as cities in their own right. In addition, they offer attractive residential destinations for the IT, ITES, media and other corporate crowd which is based in the national capital region (NCR).
It is important to remember here that both Noida and Greater Noida are environmentally sensitive, based as they on the inside peripheries of the Yamuna basin. Rampant illegal mining has raised fears of the Yamuna changing course in the eventuality of a heavy monsoon and floods. In fact, there are indications that it already has.
Magasaysay Award winner, well known environmentalist and water expert Rajinder Singh delves on this fear factor. “Gautam Buddha Nagar is situated in a low lying area where the flow of the water is at its most fierce. Now, due to illegal mining, its base is becoming shallower. Under thecircumstances,
the river could well change its course wreaking large scale damage in Noida and Greater Noida,’’ he says, painting an alarming picture. Which is not surprising. Geographically speaking, both Noida and Greater Noida are based on the left bank of Yamuna which is also the site where the mafia has indulged in large doses of unlawful mining. Naturally, in a flood situation, it is the bank whose base has already been lowered, which will face the brunt of swirling waters. Early indications – to put it mildly – are disturbing. A key source in UP’s irrigation department reveals that in 2012, Yamuna shifted 500 metres towards the left bank. “Luckily, there were no floods last year otherwise our main bandh would certainly have been demolished. The consequences are too heavy to speak but the administration seems unaffected and calm,’’ he says. Just how close were Noida and Greater Noida to disaster in 2012? According to a TSI investigation, the Gautam Buddha Nagar District Magistrate was duly warned. In a letter dated July 21, 2012, an executive engineer of the Irrigation Department had notified the administration of the dangers of vast and rapid flooding of the district if steps were not taken to check illegal mining. “In Kambakshpur, mining which is 15 to 20 feet deep, is going on within 30 metres of the flood embankment. On this exact spot, in 2011, flood waters had moved nearly 500 metres towards the embankment. Illegal mining here is most acute and there is genuine fear that the embankment may collapse,’’ the letter said. It also revealed how the mafia had been carrying on its activities without any interference from the police or administration. “Several FIRs have been registered against known illegal miners but the police has taken no subsequent steps to put any curbs and the mining continues unabated, night and day,’’ the letter added. Kambakshpur is the site of hectic illegal mining along the Yamuna in the Yamuna Khadar area which falls just between Delhi and UP. It is not as if administrations are unaware. The UP government in an effort to save Gautam Buddha district from similar vagaries had got constructed the Yamuna-Hindon embankment. But after it was washed away in the 1996 floods near the Yaqutpur village, fears of a watery end have heightened. Villagers have been agitating for a bigger embankment to control the damage and compensation for thousands of acres of cultivable land which they say, was submerged.
Illegal mining remains a highly lucrative billion-rupee business in these parts, well patronised by politicians, administration and the mafia, all acting as cohorts. Along the Yamuna Khadar stretch of the river, roughly anywhere between 1.5 to 3 kilometers or nearly 384 acres have been designated for mining, legally. Surprisingly, it is the same company which has been accorded mining rights for the last 40 years. The six most sensitive spots have been identified as Kambakshpur, Tilwara, Jhuppa, Belakala, Kahndawali and Gulavati. According to an unofficial estimate, close to Rs 60 lakhs worth of mining above prescribed levels flourishes on a daily basis at these places.
An investigation by this reporter revealed that more than 500 tractors and 50 JCB machines are involved in a vast operation manned by an industry of people. None of the tractors or machines are numbered – it helps in keeping things under wraps and not identifying the owners. In Kambakshpur, an estimated 100 tractors and more than two dozen JCB machines work non-stop, digging up sand, placing it along the banks and later transporting it to suppliers in various states.
Naturally, such a profitable venture cannot be run without substantial illegal gratification. Local grapevine suggests that the cost of every trolley doing one round (they do about four to five rounds) costs Rs 200 while JCB machine owners are obliged to cough up Rs 5,000 per machine. The mining mafia charges Rs 3,000 per truck load of sand, the market price of each truck load estimated at Rs 14,000. Just how organised is this environmentally hazardous racket? This correspondent witnessed check posts set up by illegal miners to keep an eye on proceedings and even levy an additional entry fee for trucks.
The UP Irrigation Department has filed close to 80 FIRS during the last four years, including 20 last year, against known illegal mining offenders by name. But despite their best efforts, the police has decided to look the other way, virtually ignoring the FIRs. Says BK Mishra, Executive Engineer of UP’s Irrigation department: “We have lodged repeated complaints with the police department. We have conducted an internal survey highlighting the menace and the role of the mafia in illegal mining. Recently, the district administration held a meeting with us.’’
But the sand mafia is so emboldened now that they have constructed – in open defiance of the administration and the statute book – bridges across to Haryana so that the trucks can be moved easily. The state’s Mining department, the other official agency overseeing the mining projects, has managed to pull down several of these bridges but no sooner does one come down, another springs up. Points out Mining Inspector Ashish Kumar, “We have demolished two such bridges in Kambakshpur and Mamnayal. In addition, we seized machines used for digging sand and lodged an FIR at the Kasna police station.’’ They have also seized illegal sand estimated to be worth millions from operators. But the mafia is powerful enough to get unwilling officers transferred – or even bumped off. Last year, a police constable making inquiries into illegal mining in neigbouring Faridabad in Haryana, was crushed to death under the wheels of a truck. The results of that police investigation remain unknown. Chandra Bhushan, deputy director general Centre for Science and Environment, sees the damages inflicted as losing a link with life itself. “Yamuna will die, the flora and fauna will be demolished and sand which works as a filter in the river will vanish. It all leads to deprivation ’’ Try telling it to the politicians.
