The state irrigation department has decided to clamp down on the illegal extraction of sand, stones and pebbles from riverbeds throughout Bengal.

The state irrigation secretary has recently issued a written instruction to the district magistrates across the state, asking them to act firmly against those illegally extracting these materials.

Such unlawful mining is altering river channels, affecting water flow, damaging river ecology and also affecting the state’s revenue earnings, says the letter.

Manas Bhunia, the state irrigation minister, on Friday expressed deep concern over the indiscriminate and unlicensed lifting of construction material from rivers.

He said that his department has imposed a ban on such activity throughout the state and has reminded district administrations that legal action must follow wherever violations are found.

“We have sent a clear directive to every district magistrate and land revenue office to ensure that illegal lifting of sand, pebbles, and stones from river beds is stopped without delay. Strict enforcement of the law is necessary. We want prompt results on the ground,” Bhunia said over the phone.

Sources said that the department had earlier allowed scientific dredging of certain rivers where silt deposits had raised the beds unnaturally and affected the water storage capacity of the rivers.

The West Bengal Mineral Development Corporation was given contracts to dredge such rivers without any upfront cost to the state.

“Under this, revenue flows back to the government through the sale of the extracted material, while the work deepens rivers without harming their ecology,” said an official.

Bhunia insisted that such regulated dredging, unlike rampant illegal mining, did not alter the character of rivers.

“The department would pursue the matter vigorously with district authorities. Only firm action on the ground would reassure the state that its directives were being followed,” he said.

However, reports of rampant illegal lifting continue to pour in from several districts, especially in north Bengal.

“A section of individuals is involved in such illegal extraction from the river beds without paying any revenue to the state. Sand and stones are extracted in an unchecked manner and transported in trucks and tractors,” said a source.

Such activities have led to police raids and seizures, but officials concede that the scale of the activity has made it difficult to stop the practice entirely.

Shama Parveen, the district magistrate of Jalpaiguri, said that her administration has stopped all licensed extraction of river material from June until monsoon-end.

“Squads have been deployed to track and arrest those trying to bypass the ban. We have filed cases and increased surveillance. The situation demands constant watch,” she said.

Officials of the state mineral development corporation said that they have been tasked to dredge rivers like the Teesta, the Leesh, the Ghis, the Chel, the Jaldhaka and
the Karala.

A.K. Singh, the corporation’s deputy general manager, said the swollen rivers in monsoon months made dredging impossible. “We will start the work in these rivers only after rain stops and water levels recede,” he said.