Prevent sand and gravel mining beyond the prescribed limits

Tien Dong• DNUM_CAZAHZCACC 10:22

(Baonghean.vn) - The special feature of sand and gravel mining sites on the river is that they use floating buoys, which are easily washed away and displaced during the rainy season, making it difficult to determine with the naked eye and must use positioning equipment. Therefore, many subjects have taken advantage of this loophole to mine sand and gravel outside the prescribed markers, causing loss of resources and landslides on the riverbank.

Illegal mining is a pain

On May 16, 2022, the Environmental Police Agency, Nghe An Provincial Police, issued a decision to prosecute a criminal case for the act of "Violating regulations on research, exploration and exploitation of resources" as prescribed in Article 227 of the Penal Code. Previously, on the night of April 28, 2022, the authorities caught Nguyen Van Thang (born in 1978), Nguyen Van Binh (born in 1971) and Ngu Thi Hoa (born in 1974), all residing in Block 4A, Thanh Chuong Town (Thanh Chuong), when these subjects were using a high-capacity iron-hulled motorboat toillegal miningin Lam River basin flowing through Thanh Dong commune, Thanh Chuong district.

It is worth mentioning that both Nguyen Van Thang and Nguyen Van Binh have been administratively fined for illegal mineral exploitation but continue to re-offend. Expanding the verification, the authorities determined that from the beginning of 2022 until the time of discovery, these subjects had illegally exploited more than 35 trips with a total volume of more than 1,700 m³to dump at the sand gathering dock of Mr. Nguyen Doan Duc (Deputy Director of Thanh Chuong Sand and Gravel Exploitation Joint Stock Company).

This is just one of a few cases of illegal sand and gravel mining on the Lam River that have been prosecuted. Previously, the People's Committee of Thanh Chuong District also issued a decision to punish many cases of encroachment outside the permitted mining area or illegal mining. In particular, on October 8, 2021, Thanh Chuong Sand and Gravel Mining and Transport Joint Stock Company was fined 7 million VND for placing markers at the corners of the licensed mining area but losing the markers.

A sand and gravel gathering dock with many sand dredgers anchored at the foot of Ro bridge in Thanh Chuong district. Photo: Tien Dong

Currently, according to our research, in Thanh Chuong area, there are 5 companies licensed to exploit sand and gravel on the river with 8 mines and 16 licensed sand wharves.

In Tan Ky, where there isCon RiverFlowing through with a length of about 60km, the sand and gravel in this locality are considered beautiful and are chosen by many construction workers. Currently, this locality has 16 licensed mining points in operation. Due to the large demand for construction sand and gravel, illegal mining also occurs frequently.

Right in Tan Huong commune (Tan Ky), in 2020, the Provincial People's Committee allowed a business to explore and exploit sand and gravel, but so far it has not been licensed or marked, so in name no business has been allowed to exploit. However, in the past, some local people have used vacuum cleaners to exploit sand and gravel for sale, causing loss of resources and affecting security and order in the area.

A sand dredger sucked sand deep into the ground, causing a landslide in Duong Hap village, Nghia Dung commune (Tan Ky). Photo: document

Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh - Head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Tan Ky district said: Every year, the People's Committee of the district has issued many documents directing strict management of mineral exploitation activities. However, illegal exploitation still occurs frequently. In the first months of 2022, the provincial and district authorities also handled 3 mining units that violated the declaration of mineral output, and imposed administrative fines of nearly 500 million VND.

Mr. Thanh also said that the Department of Natural Resources and Environment has regularly coordinated with units and localities to monitor mineral exploitation activities, ensuring that mining units comply with approved designs and permitted area boundaries. Timely handling of mineral exploitation outside the scope and boundaries of the mine...

Difficult to detect violations when equipment is lacking

In Nam Dan district, there are currently 8 units licensed by the Provincial People's Committee to exploit common construction stone, sand and gravel minerals. Of which, there are 3 stone quarries and 5 construction sand and gravel mines. The sand and gravel mines are mainly concentrated on Lam River, in the communes of Thuong Tan Loc, Trung Phuc Cuong, Khanh Son, Hong Long. In addition, there are 20 wharves for gathering and trading common construction sand and gravel, of which Nam Dan town has 9 wharves, Hong Long has 2 wharves, Hung Tien has 2 wharves, Trung Phuc Cuong has 3 wharves, Khanh Son has 1 wharves, Xuan Lam has 2 wharves, Nam Giang has 1 wharves.

A sand suction device located on the bank of Lam River. Photo: Tien Dong

According to the report of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, by the end of 2021, the whole province had issued 61 licenses for sand and gravel exploitation with a reserve of 21,165,000 m3.³, with an operating capacity of 1,140,361 m³/year.

Mr. Ho Sy Hai - Vice Chairman of Nam Dan District People's Committee said: The inspection of compliance with the law on minerals in the district has been conducted periodically every year. In the 4 years from 2018 to 2021, the district has coordinated with inspection teams of the province and other sectors to handle violations with a fine of 276.5 million VND. Of which, in 2018, 16 cases were fined with a fine of 84 million VND; in 2019, 11 boat owners were fined with a fine of 33 million VND and 1 sand wharf illegally trading in sand and gravel was fined 11.5 million VND; in 2020, 7 boat owners were fined with a fine of 13.5 million VND. Especially in 2021, despite the complicated developments of the Covid-19 pandemic, the locality also punished 4 cases of illegal sand and gravel mining and confiscated vehicles (converted to money) with 114.5 million VND.

According to Mr. Hai, the biggest problem at present is that some communes are still lax and have not fulfilled their responsibilities in State management of minerals. They have not developed an inspection plan, allowing illegal sand and gravel mining to occur in the area, and have not taken timely and thorough measures to handle it. In particular, after making a record of handing over mine markers to the commune for management, some communes have not paid attention to management, and even some key officials in the commune do not know that the mine markers have been handed over for inspection, monitoring and management. Many communes have not yet developed a coordination regulation to manage sand mining in border areas.

Some sand dredgers are operating on the Lam River between Nam Dan and Hung Nguyen. Photo: Tien Dong

Through research, many localities commented that currently, the inspection, patrolling and management of sand and gravel mining on the river still faces many difficulties. According to regulations, after being licensed by the province, sand and gravel mines will be handed over to the local authorities for monitoring and management. However, due to the lack of GPS devices as well as motorboats and other equipment, it is very difficult for local authorities to handle. Meanwhile, sand suction boats often intentionally illegally suck sand outside the mark at night, or when it is windy and rainy, and the waves on the river are strong.

Mr. Ho Sy Hai - Vice Chairman of Nam Dan District People's Committee also said that in Nam Dan, there are currently a number of licensed mines that have been transferred to many owners. The procedures are done directly at the province, not through the district, so sometimes the District People's Committee does not have information about the new owners, which also causes many difficulties in inspection and management./.