The ministry´s decision, however, contradicts parliament´s Committee on Natural Resources and Means, which directed the government on January 19 to halt the export of boulders and sand to India until further notice.[break]
Following the parliamentary committee´s direction, a cabinet meeting had banned the export of the construction materials a month ago. Though the cabinet has not yet formally revoked its decision, the ministry lifted the ban on the exports under direct instructions from Minister for Commerce and Supply Rajendra Mahato.
Mahato denied that he has violated any decision of the cabinet. "I decided to lift the export as there was obstruction in revenue collection," Mahato said, adding, "The cabinet had banned the export for the time being. My ministry decided to lift the export ban as per the suggestions of the parliamentary committee and the cabinet committee."
The parliamentary committee, however, has objected to the MoCS decision to lift the export ban, in violation of its directive.
"We inspected the areas affected due to sand and stone quarrying," Joint Secretary Ramsharan Ghimire of the parliamentary committee said, adding, "Our field report is still underway. Against this backdrop, how can a ministry lift our directive to the government to ban the export?"
Joint Secretary Ghimire also claimed that the ministry cannot lift the sand export in violation of parliament´s norms and procedures.
"Our investigation has shown that some 570 kilometers of highway has been badly damaged due to the movement of trucks overloaded with sand and boulders," Ghimire said, adding, "The condition at the spots from where sand and boulders are excavated is found to be vulnerable."
The sub-committee´s report has uncovered that the government has collected only Rs. 1 billion in the last two fiscal years from the exports while the maintenance of the damaged roads will cost at least Rs. 11 billion. "This shows the extent of damage caused by rampant sand mining," he added.
The parliamentary committee had taken the decision in view of the adverse ecological and environmental impact in several districts in the southern belt of the country as thousands of tons of boulder and sand have been exported to India in an uncontrolled manner over the last couple of years.
The committee had directed its sub-committee on forests and soil conservation to prepare a report on the export after field visits to the affected districts and consult the concerned authorities at the earliest possible.
The committee had issued directives to seven ministries -- Forests and Soil Conservation, Industry, Local Development, Commerce, Finance, Environment and Home Affairs -- in this regard.
"The export will be stopped immediately and will not resume until the sub-committee comes up with a conclusion on the matter. Following the sub-committee´s recommendations, a full committee meeting will take a final decision on future policy over the matter," reads the committee directive.
According to the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works, 500,000 truckloads of sand and boulders is extracted from Nepali rivers to export to India in a year. Many trucks used for transporting such materials carry up to 27 tons each. The materials are used in India to build roads, railroads and other construction work.
Joint Secretary Ghimire said the amount collected by the government is insignificant in comparison to the environmental loss, damage to the highways and bridges and other losses caused by the overloaded trucks.
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