PANAJI: The high court of Bombay at Goa has directed the Bicholim police station to thoroughly investigate the matter of the fraudulent transit pass with which sand was being illegally transported in Goa.
The high court also ordered the directorate of mines and geology (DMG) to publish on its website a list of permits that have already been issued for the transportation of sand in Goa and are currently valid. The HC said the list will help spot illegalities.
Advocate general Devidas Pangam told the high court that the Bicholim police have registered an FIR in the matter.
“This direction is issued because this is one instance where the use of a fraudulent/unauthenticated transit pass has been detected,” the high court said.
Advocate Norma Alvares representing the Goa Rivers Sand Protectors Network said that the possibility of several such instances cannot be ruled out.
“Accordingly, we think it is appropriate that this matter be seriously investigated and concluded logically,” the high court said.
Alvares said that the DMG maintains a list of permits. If this list is uploaded, Alvares said, the petitioners can find out whether transportation is being undertaken by trucks/transporters with permits or by unauthorised trucks/transporters.
“We think that the publication of such a list on the website would further the detection of illegal and unauthorised sand mining and its transportation in Goa,” the HC said.
The DMG has been directed by the HC to upload the transit passes once they are issued to trucks/transporters.
“Such transit passes are issued online, and there should be no difficulty uploading them to the website maintained by the DMG,” the HC said.
The HC said that it would be appropriate to maintain a register where the details of transit passes/royalty payment challans are entered. “At the checkpost, the authorities concerned are required to check not only the transit passes/royalty payment challan(s) issued by the neighbouring states but also the transit passes issued by the DMG for the transportation of sand in Goa,” the HC said. “If some register is maintained, either physically or digitally, this will also go a long way in ensuring that there is no illegal transportation of sand in Goa.”
