ahmedabad the stopping of sand mining in gujarat is expected to dent the construction industry in a major way following national green tribunals ngt order builders in the state are expecting the cost of raw materials to hit the roof if the supply of sand stops because of the order the real estate industry will suffer even the ancillary industry that is dependent on the construction sector will suffer we expect the government to allow the sand miners a years time to procure licences instead of stopping it immediately said vijay shah a veteran realtor ngt banned the mining of sand from rivers across the country without requisite approvals the unorganized sector came under the scanner amid the controversy over the up government suspending ias officer durga shakti nagpal who had taken on illegal sand mining business in the state developers feel that the ban will encourage black marketing and give a fillip to the sand mafia besides increasing property prices builders will be forced to pay double the cost for one cubic feet of sand apart from builders labourers artisans and engineers will also suffer the industry will have to look for alternative materials said another citybased developer the order is expected to affect all government and private schemes in the state the government has already announced affordable housing projects if sand is not available the projects will not start besides in six months other costs will go up including material and labour costs so the government may not be able to provide affordable houses at promised rates said shah in september ngt sought a response of gujarat government on a plea alleging illegal mining going in the state in brazen violation of the supreme court and ngts directions the order came on a petition filed by haryanabased agriculturist virender singh choudhary who alleged that the state has granted contracts permitting removal of sand up to a depth of 10 meters from river beds as against the three meter or water level depth recommended by the apex court the petition sought directions to the state to prohibit with immediate effect any mining river bed or otherwise of minor minerals including sand in any manner without following the procedure established by law