Illegal sand mining on Tra Khuc River: 87 cases handled
On June 26, the People's Committee of Son Tinh District (Quang Ngai) said that, regarding illegal sand mining cases on the Tra Khuc River through Son Tinh District, from the beginning of 2023 to now, Son Tinh District Police have handled 87 cases, 113 cases; at the same time, fined 113.2 million VND, confiscated 531 m3 of construction sand, 3 sand rafts. Currently, the police are still checking and verifying 13 cases and 15 cases.
Trucks transporting illegal sand at night in Son Tinh district (Quang Ngai)
Along with administrative measures, Son Tinh District Police also weighed the vehicles, discovered 40 cases of overloading and oversize violations, imposed fines of 192.5 million VND, revoked 23 badges and 14 driving licenses.
In addition, in the past 6 months, Tinh Ha Commune Police (Son Tinh District) also handled 16 cases, 6 cases of transporting sand of unknown origin, confiscated 66 m3 of sand of unknown origin and 2 illegal sand pumping and suction rafts.
Regarding illegal sand mining on Tra Khuc River, Son Tinh District authorities said that this situation is complicated, especially in the river section bordering Tinh Ha Commune, Son Tinh District and Tinh An Tay Commune, Quang Ngai City.
Through verification, the authorities identified the illegal miners as local residents of Truong Xuan and Tho Loc villages of Tinh Ha commune and Thong Nhat village, Tinh An Tay commune, Quang Ngai city.
This illegal sand mining was carried out mainly at night, with boats, rafts, and suction machines, with about 30 boats and 60 people directly participating. After mining sand from the Tra Khuc River, the above-mentioned dozens of people sold it to 9 gathering points, buying and selling sand of illegal origin in the area.
"Sand bandits" sent people to keep watch and dispersed their vehicles when they saw the authorities.
According to the People's Committee of Son Tinh District, when mining illegally, illegal sand miners often leave people on guard. If they are discovered, they report to the authorities to stop the sand mining site and tell the truck driver to find a place to hide, lock the truck door and escape; and the boat is pushed out into the middle of the Tra River, making it difficult to detain it.
Illegal sand mining vehicles on the bank of Tra Khuc River, Tinh Ha Commune, Son Tinh District
Another difficulty in applying the law in handling illegal sand mining is that the fines are low and not enough of a deterrent, so many cases are ignored and deliberately violated.
According to Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong, Chairman of Son Tinh District People's Committee, there are currently 2 sand mines in the area that have been recognized by the Quang Ngai Provincial People's Committee as winning auctions. In addition, there are 5 sand mines that have been approved for exploration reserves and auction winnings.
To end illegal sand mining, Mr. Cuong said that provincial departments and branches need to issue mineral exploitation licenses and create conditions for businesses that win sand mine auctions to carry out related administrative procedures, shortening the time to soon be granted mining licenses.
According to Mr. Cuong, the authorities should survey and build a dike north of Tra Khuc River (the border between Tinh Ha Commune, Son Tinh District and Tinh An Tay Commune, Quang Ngai City) to prevent landslides and prevent vehicles from illegally mining and transporting sand to the riverbank.
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