SCCL exempted from sand mining ban

HYDERABAD: The High Court on Thursday made an exception for Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) and allowed it to quarry sand because it is a government-owned company.The court had on March 21 clamped a stay on sand auctions, and banned quarrying altogether in the state from April 1. The coal company pleaded for an exemption from that interim order because sand stowing (use of sand to prevent subsidence of mines) is a necessary part of its operations. The company holds six sand mining leases in the state. In its petition, it said the stay on sand quarrying has adversely affected its operations and would handicap its output.The division bench, comprising chief justice Madan B Lokur and justice P V Sanjay Kumar, clarified that the blanket ban on sand mining would not apply to SCCL as it is a company owned by the government. The bench will deal with the rest of the matters related to sand mining, including an application submitted by NTPC on Friday.Meanwhile, advocate-general A Sudarshan Reddy submitted a report to the court stating that the government has imposed penalties amounting to Rs 42 crore on about 26 sand contractors for violating lease norms and for illegal mining. The High Court had stayed recovery of penalties in seven cases and five other cases were in a similar status.Of the Rs 42 crore penalties, only about Rs 1 crore has been realised so far, he added. The judges asked the government law officer to present to the court a list of pending applications for renewal of mining leases for a second year, and also a list of defaulters who have applied for renewals on their own or on proxy names.It also advised the advocate-general to look into a order of the Supreme Court on obtaining environmental clearances from the Ministry of Environment for sand quarrying on river beds.