Sand mine on Lam River: Applying for permission and exploiting at the same time?

(Baonghean) - After a period of calm due to the intervention of functional forces, the illegal exploitation of sand and gravel on Lam River through Nam Dan, Do Luong, Thanh Chuong districts... has recurred.

"Hot" illegal mining situation

According to the feedback from the people's meetings, we went to Lam River, the border section between Ngoc Son Commune (Do Luong) and Tao Son Commune (Anh Son), where illegal sand mining has been taking place for a long time. This section of the river often has 3 large capacity sand suction ships operating on the river. The sound of the engines echoes throughout the river, and the water cannons go down to suck up sand even in the embankment area of ​​Tao Son Commune (Anh Son).

Illegal sand mining in the border area of ​​Ngoc Son commune (Do Luong) and Tao Son commune (Anh Son).

There are two cranes that directly grab sand from the boat to the shore. This sand wharf is planned quite synchronously, has a large parking lot for cars to get sand, and a house to collect sand truck fees. The power line serving these two cranes is pulled from Tao Son commune (Anh Son).

Mr. Tran Nam, a resident of Ngoc Son commune, said: Sand dredging in this area operates day and night, and many sections of the river banks have eroded into cultivated land.

In Trang Son commune, there has been an illegal sand port of two people, Hoang and Vinh, for more than 5 years. The sand port was opened right behind Mr. Vinh's 2-storey house. Here, the sand crane is operating at full capacity, with cars coming in and out to transport sand busily.

Before 2005, the rampant sand bandits in this area caused serious riverbank erosion, with the erosion encroaching on National Highway 15A by about 6-7 meters. Faced with this situation, the State invested tens of billions of VND in embankment to prevent erosion through Trang Son commune.

Currently, according to some residents, at night, Mr. Vinh’s sand dredgers still “dug sand” close to the embankment, causing landslides. Every day, Mr. Vinh sells about 10-12 trucks of sand.

Going against the road to hamlet 16, Duc Son commune (Anh Son), we saw Mr. Phan Doan Hai's sand dredgers operating. This sand dock was opened by Mr. Hai right at his private house next to Lam river.

Behind is a wide road, below the dock is a large capacity "water cannon" that sprays sand directly onto cars. This facility also bought 2 transport trucks, directly transporting sand to sell everywhere.

In Linh Son, hidden behind a bamboo grove on the bank of the Lam River, there is also an illegal sand wharf operating.

In Rang area, Thanh Hung commune (Thanh Chuong), right next to Lam river bank, there is also Tu Thao illegal sand wharf operating in broad daylight. This sand wharf is only in the planning to apply for a license. However, 2 sand cranes have been invested, below the wharf is a full iron ship being hastily lifted by crane to grab sand and bring it to shore.

Tu Thao's family's sand dock was built with a solid and decent house for the whole family to live in and is also the place to collect fees for trucks leaving the dock.

The last stop is Hong Ngoc sand wharf. When we were there, we saw that this sand wharf had a crane. The owner is currently using an excavator to renovate and expand the scale. According to local people, these sand wharfs have existed and operated for nearly 10 years on a large scale, but very few authorities have inspected them. If they do, they will operate again after a few days.

Need a strong solution

Illegal sand mining has significantly affected the environment, changing natural flows, creating alluvial plains, sandbanks, and in some places forming deep holes, causing landslides on agricultural land, affecting people's lives and national projects.

Illegal sand wharf in Rang area, Thanh Hung commune (Thanh Chuong).

Mr. Nguyen Quang Minh - Head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Do Luong district admitted: For a long time, the area of ​​Ngoc Son commune (Do Luong) bordering Tao Son commune (Anh Son) has often been the scene of illegal sand mining.

Since the beginning of the year, the district has coordinated with the relevant authorities to handle two illegal sand mining cases. They are Nguyen Van Thanh (from Lang Son, Anh Son) illegally mining sand on Lam River through Ngoc Son Commune with a volume of 4-5 m3/day, fined 4 million VND; and Tran Van Thanh in Boi Son Commune (Do Luong), illegally mining sand through Ngoc Son Commune, with a volume of 4 m3/day, fined 3 million VND.

According to Mr. Minh, Head of the District Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Do Luong is continuing to strengthen the district's interdisciplinary team. In the coming time, it will review, inspect and handle illegal mining sites in the border area of ​​Do Luong and Anh Son, especially handling sand mine owners who have been licensed but mine sand in the wrong planning area, causing riverbank erosion.

Head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Thanh Chuong district, Mr. Trinh Van Bang also said: Thanh Chuong district currently has 3 mines licensed by the province. Of which, the mine of Thanh Chuong Sand and Gravel Mining Joint Stock Company is currently in the process of completing procedures.

However, there are still concerns from people in Dung town about the sand dock causing environmental pollution. Currently, the sand dock is still operating illegally. The district is deploying to establish an interdisciplinary inspection team, which will focus on expelling illegal sand mining boats in the shortest time.

However, the current difficulty is that the demand for sand for new rural construction is quite high, while licensed units cannot meet the demand, leading to illegal exploitation.

School of Literature