No action reports on illegal sand transports; Sand Mafia Bypasses GPS, Operates Maha-Khanij System in Mira-Bhayandar, RTI Reveals

In a surprising revelation, the Upper Tehsildar office in Mira-Bhayandar has stated that it has not received any action taken report (ATR) regarding illegal transportation of sand by vehicles without Global Positioning System (GPS) in vehicles between January 2023 and July 2024.

This is despite the fact that several cases have been reported where the notorious sand mafia operating in Thane district has brazenly bypassed the web-based Maha-Khanij system by transporting various types of minerals on the strength of invalid royalty receipts and expired electronic transport permits. (ETP). The information was obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act by social activist Av. Krishna Gupta.

Truck drivers at the behest of the sand mafia are also switching off the vehicle tracking system (VTS) to prevent live tracking, route deviation and real-time movement of vehicles, causing multi-crore losses to the state exchequer.

“The sand mafia is cleverly bypassing the Maha-Khanij system thanks to manipulated ETPs that have fake vehicle registration numbers that can be narrowed down with GPS locations alone. GPS devices are rarely checked before issuing the ETP challans for the vehicle. However, the response of the Additional Tahsildar stating that no such report has been received indicates a major fraud.” alleged Gupta.

Illegal transport of sand |

Illegal transportation of sand The state revenue and forest department, in its order dated February 23, 2023, had directed all district collectors and divisional commissioners to ensure installation of GPS devices on vehicles used for transportation of minerals till May 2023. In the order it further stated that the GPS devices must conform to standard 140 (AIS-140 IRNSS), certified by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI). Once installed, the device must be linked to the Maha-Khanij system through Shaurya Technosoft Pvt.Ltd. The system became operational from May 1, 2023.

Despite judicial restrictions on sand mining activities, without requisite permission, it is ‘business as usual’ for the powerful sand mafia in Thane and Palghar districts, while looting of natural resources continues unabated in Ghodbunder creek and other sand-rich places in the Vasai Virar belt. through the use of barges and boats, while thousands of tonnes of sand are illegally extracted to meet the rising demand of the construction sector.