Mumbai: The state government is mulling to invoke the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA), 1999, in incidents of illegal sand mining and against sand mafia. Officials stated that in many cases, the sand mafia attacked police officers. The home department of Maharashtra government has already invoked the provisions of this act in cases that took place in the Aurangabad division.
The state has recorded 1,39,706 illegal mining cases between 2013 and 2017, which is highest in the country. The state, in an affidavit to the Nagpur bench of Bombay high court, highlighted that in five cases related to sand mafia, Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Slumlords, Bootleggers, Drug Offenders and Dangerous Persons Act (MPDA) and MCOCA were invoked along with relevant sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC).
“We have been cracking down smuggling of illegally mined sand, which is becoming rampant in the state. These provisions will be slapped based on the nature of the case and not on all incidents. We will be checking the background of the miscreants and they will be prosecuted according to the nature of the case,” said an official from the state home department.
Earlier on July 25, the Supreme Court had issued notices to five states — Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab — seeking action to curb illegal sand mining.
