CHENNAI: The Union Ministry of Environment and Forest has sought comments from the state government on the draft guidelines on the extraction of sand from sandbars in intertidal areas by coastal communities.
Under the draft guidelines sent to the state coastal zone management authority, the Centre has asked the state to utilise the expertise of premier scientific institutes or university departments in preparing a plan for sandbar extraction and monitoring.
In each coastal district, the state has been authorised to form a seven to 10-member committee chaired by a magistrate or collector and consisting of representatives from scientific or technical institutes or university departments, district-level committees constituted under CRZ notification and two from local traditional coastal communities or fishermen.
Sources said the guideline states that the committee constituted at the district level will be responsible for approving extraction as per the approved plan. The committee shall specify a time period in a particular area and the quantity of sand that can be extracted. The committee shall also be responsible for monitoring the extraction process, which shall be done manually without using machinery.
This comes as various organisations opposed amendments to the CRZ notification, 2019, related to oil and gas exploration, sand extraction from sandbars and retaining shacks on beaches during the monsoon, stating that the proposed changes will spell disaster for the environment and local communities.
Sandbars are formed naturally along intertidal areas. Fishermen have opposed sand extraction from sand bars claiming it functions as eco-barriers that prevent fishing hamlets from extreme events, besides maintaining the ecological balance. They added that clearing sandbars would lead to rapid coastal erosion and threaten the nesting of seashore birds and endangered turtles.