JOSHIMATH | Sept 29, 2015: A contractor who was fined Rs 20,000 for "illegal" sand mining in Lata village from river Dhauliganga by the forest department has claimed that he was not indulging in any unauthorized activity but was collecting his "own material" after getting permission from the Chamoli DM.
Contractor Dhan Singh Rana was fined Rs 20,000 for illegal mining from river Dhauliganga, which after reaching Joshimath is known as Alaknanda. The contractor was caught flouting a number of regulations. He was using JCB machines to extract the mining material whereas only manual method is allowed for extracting sand. He was found "mining" at 8 pm, whereas all mining activity has to be halted at 6 pm. He was also carrying out mining in September, when mining across the state is closed from June till October.
Dhan Singh Rana, who was found drunk, showed a letter signed by Chamoli district magistrate Ashok Kumar. As per the contents of the letter, Rana has been allotted mining "khasra" 2174,2175, 2176. The letter reads that he had had deposited some 3,000 cubic meters of sand on the banks of the river. Some of it was washed away. Fearing that a bridge situated close to the site could collapse in case of heavy rain anytime, he had sought permission from the DM to collect "his material". He had deposited a fee of Rs 16.30 lakh for mining for two months. So the DM gave him "special permission" from September 11 to 30 to pick up the material that would be required to carry out the repairs in the 2013 calamity-struck area.
On earlier occasions too, the contractor was warned against flouting rules but he paid no heed. He was seen taking away carrying truckloads of material from the river every day, officials said.
Officials also found that there was no bridge close to the river. It appeared that the DM had not cross-checked the Rana's version before giving permission or whether he was flouting norms thereafter. When asked, Kumar tried to pass the buck to another fellow mining official.
(Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/)