Section 23-C of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act (MMDR

Act,1957.pdf (mines.gov.in)) states that: “The State Governments may, by notification in the
Official Gazette, make rules for preventing illegal mining, transportation and storage of minerals
and for the purposes connected therewith.”

Section 4 of the Act specifically states that mining without necessary permits is illegal. This
includes sand mining also:

4. Prospecting or mining operations to be under licence or lease.―(1)

[No person shall
undertake any reconnaissance, prospecting or mining operations in any area, except under and
in
accordance with the terms and conditions of a reconnaissance permit or of a prospecting licence
or, as
the case may be, of a mining lease, granted under this Act and the rules made thereunder]:
Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall affect any prospecting or mining operations
undertaken in any area in accordance with terms and conditions of a prospecting licence or
mining lease
granted before the commencement of this Act which is in force at such commencement:
5
[Provided further that nothing in this sub-section shall apply to any prospecting operations
undertaken by the Geological Survey of India, the Indian Bureau of Mines,
6
7
[the Atomic Minerals
Directorate for Exploration and Research] of the Department of Atomic Energy of the Central
Government, the Directorates of Mining and Geology of any State Government (by whatever
name
called), and the Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited., a Government company within the
meaning
of
[clause (45) of section 2 of the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013), and any such entity that may
be
notified for this purpose by the Central Government]:]
8
[Provided also that nothing in this sub-section shall apply to any mining lease (whether called
mining lease mining concession or by any other name) in force immediately before the
commencement
of this Act in the Union territory of Goa, Daman and Diu.]
9[(1A) No person shall transport or store or cause to be transported or stored any mineral
otherwise
than in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the rules made thereunder.]
(2)
10[No reconnaissance permit, prospecting licence or mining lease] shall be granted otherwise
than
in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the rules made thereunder.
5[(3) Any State Government may, after prior consultation with the Central Government and in
accordance with the rule made under section 18,
11[undertake reconnaissance, prospecting or mining
operations with respect to any mineral specified in the First Schedule in any area within that
State which
is not already held under any reconnaissance permit, prospecting licence or mining lease].]

Environment Impact Assessment Notification, 2006 (EIA Notification, 2006.pdf

(environmentwb.gov.in)) was issued by the Central Government under the provisions of the
Environment Protection Act, 1986 (ep_act_1986.pdf (indiacode.nic.in)). As per the notification,
“the mining of minerals with a lease area of five or more hectares would require prior
environmental clearance”.

Mining of sand from the riverbeds without licence or permit thus constitutes an offence of theft
of minerals under Sections 378 and 379 of the Penal Code, 1860 (IPC 378, 379 Indian Penal
Code | Theft | Punishment for Theft (aaptaxlaw.com)) as natural resources are also the property
of the public, and the State is its trustee.

In 2016, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) issued
Sustainable Sand Mining Management Guidelines, 2016 (RSM1.pdf (py.gov.in)). Apart from
laying importance on sustainability in sand mining and monitoring of sand mining activities, the
guidelines also focus on the conservation, protection and restoration of ecological systems while
maintaining river equilibrium. The salient features of the guidelines are as follows:
 It is aimed to ensure that sand and gravel mining is done in an environmentally
sustainable and socially responsible manner.
 Implementing safeguards for checking illegal and indiscriminate mining. Monitoring
system for sustainable sand mining.
 To improve the effectiveness of monitoring of mining and transportation of mined-out
material.
 Its object is to ensure the conservation of the river equilibrium and its natural
environment by protection and restoration of the ecological system.
 To ensure the rivers are protected from bank and bed erosion beyond their stable profile.
Streamlining and simplifying the process for grant of environmental clearance (EC) for
sustainable mining.
 Prevent groundwater pollution by prohibiting sand mining on fissures where it works as a
filter prior to groundwater recharge. Streamlining and simplifying the process for grant of
environmental clearance for sustainable mining.

Adhering to the need to monitor mining activities, particularly sand mining, the Ministry of
Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has brought forward the Enforcement and
Monitoring Guidelines for Sand Mining, 2020 (e2025.pdf (ielrc.org)). The main objective of
these Guidelines is to regulate sand mining in the country and to control the instance of illegal
mining. The salient features of the guidelines are as follows:
 Effective monitoring of sand mining from the identification of sand mineral sources to its
dispatch and end use by consumers and the general public and look at a uniform protocol
for the whole country.
  Constant monitoring of mining activity is to be done by drones and night surveillance.
Auditing of rivers by the State. Dedicated task forces at district levels should be set up by
the States which shall prepare district survey reports.
 Conducting a replenishment study for the riverbed by the State to minimise the adverse
impacts arising due to excessive sand extraction. Prohibition of riverbed mining during
monsoon seasons.

Other than these guidelines and statutes at the Central level, each State has also implemented
their own policies and legislations in consonance with the MMDR Act, 1957, and the Guidelines
of 2016 and 2020.

Relevant rules from the Andhra Pradesh Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1966:

(9X)
(b) The minimum penalty for each truck carrying sand without valid permit issued by the
concerned authority must be Rs. 10,000/- (Rupees ten thousand only) for each truck of 10 tonnes
capacity and Rs. 5,000/- (Rupees five thousand only) in respect of Tractor. In case of repeated
violations, vehicle will be confiscated by the officer not below in rank to the Assistant Director
of Mines & Geology. The powers delegated to various officers under the existing provisions of
Andhra Pradesh Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1966 shall be extended to sand cases also.

(e) The bidders shall not use poclains or any other machinery for the purpose of digging/loading
since as per the WALTA Act, 2002, the sand mining is restricted to one Metre only and use of
machinery leads to extraction of sand beyond one metre.

5(h)(v): (v) The licensee or lessee shall erect and maintain at its own expenses boundary pillars
of substantial material standing not less than one metre above the surface of the ground at each
corner or angle on the line of the boundary of the area under licence or lease and at intervals of
not more than 183 metres along with the boundary delineated in the plan attached to the area
under the licence or lease.

30. Report to Chief Inspector of Mines. - The lessee or his agent or the manager of the quarry
shall forward to the Chief Inspector of Mines, Dhanbad, India and the [Assistant Director]
concerned a report in Form F1.
(i) whenever the depth of the quarry measured from its highest to its lowest point reaches six
metres ;

(ii) whenever the number of persons employed in the quarry on any day is more than 50 ; and

(iii) at such times as the Assistant Director may direct.

In Paristhithi Samrakshana Sangham v. State of Kerala (2009 SCC OnLine Ker 1601.), the High
Court of Kerala held that: “… when the Government is presented with a choice between
irreparable injury to the environment and severe damage to economic interests, protection of the
environment would have precedence. No permit shall be given to any person for sand mining in
the area concerned unless a sand audit is conducted.”

The High Court of Kerala in Soman v. Geologist (2004 SCC OnLine Ker 510) held: “… the
principle of sustainable development is now a part of environmental jurisprudence, flowing from
Article 21 of the Constitution of India, and hence the State is bound to impose any conditions
while granting the permit for sand mining.…”

In Anjani Kumar v. State of U.P. (2017 SCC OnLine NGT 979), the following directions were
passed by the NGT with respect to sand mining:
Obtaining environmental clearance shall be a condition precedent to carrying on of the mining
activity or execution of the lease.
The State Government and all its agencies and instrumentalities would ensure that the protection
and replenishment of natural resources including sand is duly provided for in the mining lease.
The State Government and its instrumentalities shall also ensure that the terms and conditions of
the mining lease would contain all the relevant clauses to carry out sustainable mining.

In Anumolu Gandhi v. State of A.P.( 2019 SCC OnLine NGT 1712) The Tribunal has held that:
… it is the duty of the Government to provide complete protection to the natural resources as a
trustee of the public at large. All unregulated sand mining that is being conducted without
following the prescribed procedure in the State of Andhra Pradesh should be prohibited….

In State of Bihar v. Pawan Kumar ((2022) 3 SCC 102), the three-Judge Bench of the Supreme
Court observed that:
“… a total ban on legal mining of sand, apart from giving rise to illegal mining, will also cause
huge loss to the public exchequer. The following directions are thereby issued:
1. The District Survey Reports for the purpose of mining in the State of Bihar shall be undertaken
afresh.
2. The reports shall be prepared by undertaking site visits and also by using modern technology.
3. The draft reports shall be examined by the State Expert Appraisal Committee which shall
consider the grant of approval.
4. A strict adherence to the procedure and parameters laid down in the policy laid down in 2020
i.e. Enforcement and Monitoring Guidelines for Sand Mining.”
In Bajri Lease Lol Holders Welfare Society v. State of Rajasthan (2019 SCC OnLine Raj 2754)
held that: “… unabated illegal mining has resulted in the emergence of the sand mafia who
conduct illegal mining in the manner of organised criminal activities and have been involved in
brutal attacks against members of local communities, enforcement officials, reporters and social
activists who dare object to unlawful sand excavation. Section 21(5) of the Mines and Minerals
(Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 empowers the State Government to recover the price of
the illegally mined mineral, in addition to recovery of rent, royalty or tax, that the penalty
recommended by the Central Empowered Committee for illegal sand mining would be in
addition to the penalty that can be imposed by the State Government in terms of Section 21(5) of
the Act. The report also mentioned that the compensation/penalty/value of sand needs to be
recovered in respect of illegal sand mining as below:
(a) compensation for environmental damage;
(b) value of the vehicles to be realised before release;
(c) recovery of value of the illegally mined sand; and
(d) the above compensation will be over and above any penalty imposed as per existing rules or
provisions.”

In Common Cause v. Union of India (2017) 9 SCC 499) it was held:

“mining operations undertaken by any person in any area without holding a mining lease and
any other mining operation conducted in violation of the terms of the mining scheme, the mining
plan, and the mining lease as well as the statutes such as the Environment (Protection) Act,
1986, the Forest (Conservation) Act, 198028, the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution)
Act, 197429, and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 198130 and the Wild Life
Protection Act, 197231.
Compensation

Compensation for illegal mining is to be subjected to Sections 21(1) and (5) of the MMDR Act,
1957. Section 21(1) imposes a penalty for contravention of the provisions of sub-section (1) or
sub-section (1-A) of Section 4 which requires due compliance with the terms and conditions laid
down in reconnaissance permit, or a prospecting licence or a mining lease. Section 21(5) imposes
a penalty on any person who without any lawful authority extracts any mineral from any land.

In National Green Tribunal Bar Association v. Virender Singh (State of Gujarat) (2019 SCC
OnLine NGT 1488), a case related to illegal sand mining from riverbeds in different States,
constituted a committee which comprised of representatives of Ministry of Environment, Forest
and Climate Change, Government of India (MoEF&CC), Central Pollution Control Board
(CPCB), Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal (IIFM), Institute of Economic Growth,
New Delhi (IEG) and Madras School of Economics (MSE). The Committee was constituted with
an objective to:
“57. … prepare a scale of compensation, after including the components mentioned in the order,
which can be adopted in the whole of country…. The nodal agency for compliance and
contribution is CPCB. The Committee may also take professional service of an expert/institution
in the matter if it so desires. (National Green Tribunal Bar Assn. v. Virender Singh (State of
Gujarat), 2019 SCC OnLine NGT 1488. )

In view of this order of the NGT, the Committee prepared a report to suggest a scale of
compensation to deal with cases of illegal sand mining in the whole of the country. The
Committee suggested that owing to the reality of ongoing economic activities causing ecological
damages implies that the adoption of the polluter pays principle can be a way ahead for raising
the resources for undertaking restoration activity to the maximum extent possible. Ideally, the
compensation can be determined by making an independent assessment of each river or water
body, but till the time such extensive research is being done, the Committee suggested that two
approaches can be used to determine compensation. The two approaches are:
Direct compensation. ——The compensation under this approach is based on three distinct
criteria:
(i) Exceedance factor: The amount of penalty charged should be in proportion to the
extent of the illegal extraction of material.
(ii) Risk factor: It reflects the severity of the ecological damages. Risk factor accounts
for the extent of severity of damages.
(iii) Deterrence factor: The greater the extent of extraction, the greater the likelihood of
cumulative adverse impact. This factor holds the miners accountable in a way that
deters them.
Net payment value (NPV) approach. ——Total benefits from the activity of sand mining (as
represented by the market value of the extracted amount) are deducted from the total ecological
costs imposed by the activity. The above two approaches are interim recommendations for
compensation to be charged.