‘State to legally quarry sand & gravel from Teesta River for next 5 years’

Jalpaiguri: The Bengal government is set to extract sand and gravel from the Teesta River through legal quarrying — not dredging — for the next five years. The West Bengal Mineral Development and Trading Corporation Limited (WBMDTCL) has applied for environmental clearance from the State Pollution Control Board.

In the first phase, WBMDTCL will quarry a 2-kilometre stretch near Paharpur in suburban Jalpaiguri. This year, the corporation plans to extract 81,480 cubic metres of sand and 1,22,220 cubic metres of gravel from a 6.70-hectare area of the riverbed.

A public hearing was conducted by the State Pollution Control Board on Friday at the conference hall of the District Land and Land Reforms Department to gather feedback and address environmental concerns from local residents.

“We’re hopeful of receiving clearance soon, after which the extraction will begin,” said AK Singh, Deputy General Manager of WBMDTCL. “This is the first year of a five-year plan. The project will increase the river’s depth and water-holding capacity.” Experts at the hearing said an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was completed for the project area and the surrounding 2-kilometre zone. They assured that biodiversity would not be harmed and the water level would remain unaffected since mining will occur in a dry section of the river at a depth of 3 metres. Covered dumpers and tractors will be used to control dust and transportation will not occur during school hours.

The corporation also committed to repairing local roads and conducting annual tree plantation drives near the quarry site. Residents from areas such as Teesta Bridge and Domohoni, including Sanjib Natta, Durjoy Das and Jamal Hossain, raised concerns about potential damage to embankments and changes in the river’s course. In response, experts clarified that quarrying would be confined to the middle of the river and strictly within the 6.70-hectare zone. Boundaries will be marked with pillars monitored by locals. Initially, the state had planned dredging at a cost of Rs 565 crore, but shifted to controlled mining to avoid heavy expenses and generate revenue through WBMDTCL.

Additional District Magistrate (Land Reforms) Priyadarshini Bhattacharjee said, “The public’s concerns were heard and addressed during the hearing.”