HCMC – The competent agencies in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang have been told to take bold measures to deal with illegal sand exploitation in the river near My Thuan Bridge.
The People’s Committee of Tien Giang said that since the start of the year, the province had found 79 cases of illegal sand exploitation with 125 exploiters.
Of them, 39 cases were fined VND5.9 billion, with all facilities confiscated, while others are under the filing process.
At the same time, the inspectors of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment in Tien Giang discovered 25 individuals and one organization committing unauthorized exploitation and fined them over VND5.15 billion.
Another 11 cases of illegal sand exploitation near the My Thuan Bridge’s neighboring areas were fined VND1.3 billion. The committee said that illegal exploiters were operating near My Thuan Bridge bordering the provinces of Vinh Long and Tien Giang.
Given the situation, the Tieng Giang police have told the relevant authorities to take measures against the wrongdoing.
Since this February, the waterway traffic police have maintained a group to keep sand exploitation under close observation.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environment also urged the agencies to conduct interdisciplinary inspections and supervise sand exploitation at hotspots.
The areas near My Thuan Bridge are not open for exploitation, although their sand reserve is estimated at 25 million cubic meters.
