In the backdrop of allegation of illegal sand mining that surfaced in the Durga Shakti Nagpal episode, the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has constituted a committee to inquire into the adverse environment impact caused by it.

“With a view to inquiring into the allegations of the illegal sand mining widely reported in the electronic as well as print media, (with visual of heavy machinery being used in illegal sand mining in Gautam Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh); in order to ascertain the factual positions and with a view to suggesting further course of action in the matter, the ministry of environment and forests constitutes the following committee under the chairpersonship of Dr Saroj, Director, MoEF,” said a circular issued by the MoEF on Tuesday. 

While the issue of illegal sand mining in Gautam Budh Nagar has been widely reported, it was highlighted when Durga Shakti Nagpal, the SDM who took on the sand mafia, seizing truckloads of illegally mined sand, was suspended by the UP government on July 27.

The state government suspended Nagpal on the ground that she took unilateral decision to demolish the wall of a mosque, which, the administration apprehended, could have led to communal trouble in the area. The district magistrate said in his report that Nagpal was involved in demolishing the mosque wall.