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- Supreme Court has deferred a National Green Tribunal order directing the Andhra Pradesh government to deposit Rs. 100 crore for not checking illegal sand mining.
- NGT’s direction came in the backdrop of a plea which had alleged illegal sand mining was causing damage to the Krishna and Godavari rivers and their tributaries in the state.
- However, the petition file by the state against the NGT order has argued that that sand was being excavated following the Sustainable Sand Mining Management Guidelines, 2016. The guidelines had been issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The state has alleged he Tribunal went beyond the provisions of the law and initiated suo motu proceedings on the basis of vague and misleading allegations.
- The guidelines provide for a detailed programme for ensuring that mining of river sand is done in a sustainable manner.
- Sand is a minor mineral, as defined under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR Act). Section 15 of the MMDR Act empowers state governments to make rules for regulating the grant of mineral concessions in respect of minor minerals and for purposes connected therewith.



