Pune: With the district losing a lot of revenue due to illegal sand mining, Guardian Minister of Pune Girish Bapat has written to the Urban Development authorities asking them to grant building completion certificate to builders only after they have taken a no-objection certificate (NOC) from them on sand usage.

While addressing a press conference at Council Hall on Monday, Bapat said the move will help to curb sand mining and increase the revenue of the district. Bapat said builders should seek NOC on sand usage from Pune Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (PMRDA), district collectorate, local corporation or the cantonment body. “Illegal sand mining is causing revenue loss, so we have come up with this initiative in which builders will have to submit the report on sand usage,” added Bapat.

He said National Green Tribunal (NGT) has prohibited the government from granting permission for sand mining in river beds. “However, there is no prohibition on sand mining at open land and so the district can increase its revenue by using this sand. While doing this we will work as per the guidelines of the green tribunal,” added Bapat.

The issue of sand mining was raised earlier at the green tribunal when suction pumps were used in the riverbed of River Bhima at Koregaon Bhima village in Shirur.