The Assam government has completed District Survey Reports for all 35 districts to identify zones where sand and stone mining can legally take place, and plans to float tenders for 100-150 mining sites, Forest and Environment Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah announced in Guwahati on Saturday. Several tenders are expected to be issued within the next week, with the allotment process targeted for completion by November.
The reports, prepared by experts, pinpoint suitable extraction locations while factoring in the growing demand for construction materials driven by the state’s ongoing development push. “With development taking place across Assam, sand and stone are essential construction materials. The District Survey Reports identify areas where mining can be permitted legally. Our objective is to facilitate regulated extraction while discouraging illegal mining,” Baruah said. He added that the tendering initiative would enable people to source materials from legal quarries rather than turning to illegal mining.
The minister also addressed the increasingly precarious state of the Bharalu River, whose natural flow has been severely disrupted by closed channels and the discharge of household wastewater. “The Bharalu is no longer functioning like a flowing river. Many of its channels have been closed, and it has increasingly become a drain carrying wastewater from households,” he said. In some stretches, the river has narrowed to just two or three metres, and Baruah warned that restoration would require widening it to at least eight metres. “Unless we can restore it to a minimum width of eight metres, the purpose of reviving the river will not be achieved,” he said. Leased land and unauthorised constructions along the riverbanks present further obstacles. As a possible solution, the government may declare certain stretches eco-sensitive zones to halt further construction and explore measures to clear space for widening the waterway.
On the wildlife front, Baruah highlighted a community-led conservation initiative at Barekuri in Tinsukia district, where local groups-particularly women-are protecting the endangered western hoolock gibbon by combining awareness efforts with ecotourism. Located around 16 km from Tinsukia town, Barekuri is home to an estimated 20-21 gibbons across five family groups, an unusual arrangement in which the primates live in bamboo groves and fruit trees within residential backyards. The minister identified habitat fragmentation, electrocution and food scarcity as the species’ principal threats. Conservation measures underway include planting fruit-bearing trees, insulating power lines and planning a green corridor linking Barekuri with the Bherjan-Borajan-Padumoni Wildlife Sanctuary. In a post on a microblogging platform, the minister said Barekuri demonstrated how community participation, women’s involvement and nature-based tourism could bolster wildlife conservation, stressing that safeguarding Assam’s natural heritage for future generations was a collective responsibility with local communities at its centre.
Original Source: https://assamtribune.com/assam/assam-maps-sand-stone-mining-zones-across-35-districts-plans-tenders-for-150-sites-1621144
Category: Assam,Featured
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Publish Date: 2026-10-24 17:42:00
