Date | Dec 19, 2016:

The department has also decided to issue web-based electronic transit pass to the mines, in place of paper-based ones, to ensure transparency and keep a tab on the quantum of the minerals mined. (HT file)

Facing flak over illegal mining and attacks by the mafia, the mineral resources department plans to rope in retired army personnel and the state industrial security force (SISF) for deploying them in sensitive mining areas of Madhya Pradesh.

“We are holding talks with ex-armymen and the state industrial security force (SISF) for hiring their services. Financial details are being worked out. We are seeking rates from them and based on that, negotiations will be held,” VK Austin, director of the department, told HT on Sunday.

Senior officials of the department are discussing the impact of mining on rivers, especially the Narmada, and the steps to be taken to check digging and lifting of sand from riverbeds, Austin said.

The 144-day-long ongoing Narmada Sewa Yatra spotlighted mining on the riverbed. Environmentalists, Congress leaders and some BJP leaders such as Uma Bharti have told the government to stop mining on the Narmada bed if it is serious about protecting the river.

The department has also decided to issue web-based electronic transit pass (ETP) to the mines, in place of paper-based ones, to ensure transparency and keep a tab on the quantum of the minerals mined.

Officials said entries of all mines are being fed into in the ETP software, and user ID and password will be given to contractors on depositing a fixed amount. “This will facilitate leaseholders to deposit royalty and taxes. And through this centralised software, the department will know how much mineral is obtained from excavation and how much is sold,” said an official.

This year, MP recorded 7,097 cases of illegal transportation of minerals with over 600 in the Chambal region, 407 cases of illegal mining and 392 cases of illgal storage.

Illegal sand mining remains rampant in most rivers of the state. Attacks by mining mafia on officials are regularly reported in the state. Mafia violence hit national headlines when the driver of a tractor-trolley carrying illegally mined stones crushed IPS officer Narendra Kumar to death in 2012 in Morena district.

Legislators from both the Congress and the BJP raised concern over illegal mining in the state assembly in March this year, and the main opposition party walked out over what it called the government’s failure to check violence by mining mafia.

(Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/)