Date | Jan 23, 2017: An agency that secured a sand mining licence through the Bengal government's newly launched e-auction process has run into protests by local youths in Birbhum who alleged that the heavy machinery being used had robbed them of employment opportunities.

Police said as soon as the private agency went to the riverbed in Birbhum's Mohammadbazar on Saturday with modern machinery to lift sand, around 40 youths who used to work at the mine earlier stopped work, triggering a clash.

Earlier, sand mining rights were awarded by the administration on a first-come-first-served basis, making the process vulnerable to political influence. Local politicians called the shots at most mines, also ensuring that those close to them were hired. Mining used to be largely labour-intensive.

However, the National Green Tribunal, hearing a case of pollution last year, banned sand mining in Bengal and ordered fresh distribution of mining rights through e-auction. The government has completed the auctioning of 500 acres of mining area, but work has started at only a handful of mines.

Several administrative and police officers said they feared more trouble because the issue was essentially a conflict between the labour-intensive and capital-intensive modes of working. The capital-intensive mode relies more on machinery than manpower.

"They (the Mohammadbazar protesters) alleged that the machines and skilled labourers that the agency is using have robbed them of their livelihood. That is why they forcibly tried to prevent mechanised sand mining," an official said.

Officials fear more such protests elsewhere in the state as the agencies who have bagged contracts through e-auction begin work.

"This is a cause for concern.... If the agencies that are spending handsome amounts to secure mining rights face trouble, it would not send the right signal," an official said.

A Nabanna official said a section of bureaucrats had apprehended trouble "because local politicians who used to control sand mining across the state would no longer be able to do so".

The officials said similar protests had taken place at the Haldia dock when the private cargo-handling agency ABG began using modern machines instead of depending on labourers. "Trinamul leaders had backed the agitation against ABG," an official said.

Sources said that often local politicians used to back illegal mining at legal sand pits besides controlling the entire cash-rich trade.

"Now the rules of the game are changing and mining rights for most pits have been secured by agencies located outside Bengal.... Some local agencies have also got the rights but none of them would want to entertain the demands of local leaders as they have already spent money to secure the rights and buy machinery," an official said.

The agency that got the rights to mine in Mohammadbazar is based in Asansol and has deployed modern machinery and skilled labourers from outside Birbhum.

Gautam Mandal, who owns the agency, said: "I emerged as the highest bidder after quoting a price of Rs 2 crore.... I will definitely use machinery to recover my investments. If mining is disrupted, I would have no option but to surrender the licence."

Because of the year-long ban on mining, the state is facing a shortage of sand, a key raw material in the construction sector. More than 1 lakh people engaged in the sector have lost their jobs as projects have been stalled. If the mining agencies are not allowed to work, the crisis will deepen.

(Source: https://www.telegraphindia.com/)