Form panel to act on illegal mining reports, MLA asks DC

Ravinder Saini

Mahendragarh, October 24

Taking a serious view of media reports about illegal mining, Abhay Singh Yadav, BJP legislator from Nangal Choudhary, has written to DC Monika Gupta, asking her to constitute a committee led by the Additional Deputy Commissioner to take action after collecting information.

The MLA has also raised the issue of makeshift paths created by private firms for carrying out mining and stone-crushing activities. The DC has been asked to either block the paths or ensure that the firms pay money to the gram panchayat for using its land. A copy of the communiqué has also been sent to the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister for information.

“There are several such villages where mining firms and stone-crushing units are using panchayat land adjacent to the hill area as a path for transporting mining materials, hence I have suggested that with the consent of the gram panchayat concerned, a fixed amount should be deposited in the panchayat’s account every year otherwise the paths should be plugged,” he told ‘The Tribune’.

The DC had also been told to look into reports of illegal mining on panchayat land in Dokhera zone, objections by villagers for leasing out the panchayat land for mining and illegal paths created by owners of mining firms and stone-crushing units.

The district authorities are not succeeding in curbing illegal mining as 99 FIRs have been registered in the past about seven months. Recently, a man involved in the illegal transportation of mining material in a tractor-trailer hit a vehicle of the Mining Department at Digrota village when officials were inspecting the area.

Meanwhile, the DC, while chairing a meeting of the District Level Task Force in Narnaul recently, directed the Civil Surgeon to organise regular health camps in the mining-affected villages. She directed officials to ensure that mining firms and stone-crushing units were complying with rules.

99 FIRs registered in past 7 months

• The district authorities are not succeeding in curbing illegal mining as 99 FIRs have been registered in the past about seven months.
• Recently, a man involved in the illegal transportation of mining material in a tractor-trailer hit a vehicle of the Mining Department at Digrota village when officials were inspecting the area