Fines for illegal sand mining are low and not enough of a deterrent.

Illegal sand mining on the Tra Khuc River: 87 cases processed.

On June 26th, the People's Committee of Son Tinh District ( Quang Ngai Province ) announced that, regarding illegal sand mining on the Tra Khuc River section passing through Son Tinh District, from the beginning of 2023 to the present, the Son Tinh District Police have handled 87 cases involving 113 individuals; simultaneously imposing fines totaling 113.2 million VND, confiscating 531 ^m³ of construction sand and 3 sand-dredging rafts. Currently, the police are still investigating and verifying 13 cases involving 15 individuals.

Trucks transporting illegally mined sand at night in Son Tinh District (Quang Ngai Province).

In addition to administrative measures, the Son Tinh District Police also conducted weight checks, detecting 40 cases of overloaded and oversized vehicles, imposing fines totaling 192.5 million VND, and revoking 23 vehicle registration plates and 14 driver's licenses.

In addition, over the past six months, the Tinh Ha Commune Police (Son Tinh District) have handled 16 cases involving 6 instances of transporting sand of unknown origin, confiscating 66 ^cubic meters of undocumented sand and 2 illegal sand dredging and pumping rafts.

Regarding illegal sand mining on the Tra Khuc River, the Son Tinh District authorities stated that the situation is complex, especially in the section of the river bordering Tinh Ha commune, Son Tinh District, and Tinh An Tay commune, Quang Ngai City.

Through verification, authorities determined that the illegal miners were local residents from Truong Xuan and Tho Loc villages in Tinh Ha commune, and Thong Nhat village in Tinh An Tay commune, Quang Ngai city.

This illegal sand mining was carried out mainly at night, using various types of boats, rafts, and suction machines, with approximately 30 boats and 60 people directly involved. After extracting sand from the Tra Khuc River, the aforementioned dozens of people sold it to 9 collection points and trading locations for illegally sourced sand in the area.

"Sand thieves" station lookouts and move their vehicles when they spot law enforcement.

According to the People's Committee of Son Tinh District, when secretly exploiting sand, illegal sand miners often assign lookouts. If they detect authorities, they will notify the sand mining site to cease operations and have the truck driver find a hiding place, lock the vehicle doors, and flee; while the boats are pushed into the middle of the Tra River, making it difficult to detain them.

Illegal sand mining vehicles are operating on the banks of the Tra Khuc River, in Tinh Ha commune, Son Tinh district.

Another difficulty in applying the law to deal with illegal sand mining is the low fine, which is not enough to deter offenders, leading many to disregard the regulations and intentionally violate them.

According to Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong, Chairman of the People's Committee of Son Tinh District, there are currently two sand mines in the district whose auction results have been recognized by the Quang Ngai Provincial People's Committee. In addition, there are five other sand mines whose exploration reserves have been approved and whose auction winnings have been determined.

To put an end to illegal sand mining, Mr. Cuong suggested that provincial departments and agencies should issue mining licenses and facilitate the process for businesses that win bids for sand mines, shortening the time required to obtain mining permits sooner.

According to Mr. Cuong, the authorities should survey and construct an embankment on the north side of the Tra Khuc River (the section bordering Tinh Ha commune, Son Tinh district and Tinh An Tay commune, Quang Ngai city) to prevent erosion and stop illegal sand mining and transportation vehicles from entering the riverbank.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/quang-ngai-muc-phat-tien-khai-thac-cat-trai-phep-thap-khong-du-ran-de-185230626163759952.htm