Bihar has become a new hotspot for illegal sand mining, with former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi confirming its prevalence and implicating local police and mining departments in the activities. Reports indicate that illegal sand extraction occurs from the Sone River despite a ban from the National Green Tribunal, with trucks paying bribes to facilitate the trade. The situation is detrimental to legitimate sand mining companies, which face losses and scrutiny amidst ongoing illegal operations.

1. Bihar: The new haven for illegal sand mining
Illegal sand mining has been an issue in India for more than 3 years now. New reports suggest that
Bihar is the newly hit state by illegal sand mining.
It was confirmed by Sushil Kumar Modi, the former Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister of
the Bihar state that unlawful sand mining was prevalent in the region and all of it accounted to
millions from the public money.
Sushil Kumar Modi also claimed that the respective police and, mining and transport departments
were helping such activities to protect “vested interests.”
In a press release, Sushil Kumar Modi stated that “There is illicit sand mining taking place from Sone
river across a dozen districts in breach of the NGT (National Green Tribunal) ban on it … Hundreds of
trucks carrying sand make underhand payment of Rs 6000 [+/- US$90] on each vehicle to the local
police to carry sand for illicit trade,”.
The sanding and mining companies will be the most hit as they will be losing on both, the business
and resources. “It is well established that illegal mining has been happening since quite some time
across various beaches of India. But till now, the parties responsible have not been traced down. In
fact, businessmen like us come under scrutiny during each probe.” said Vaikundarajan, the MD of V.
V. Minerals. VVM is the largest sand mining company and the only one to manufacture garnet in
India.