Date | Feb 20, 2017:

The Gadchiroli administration has issued showcause notices to six sand mines in Sironcha asking why their leases should not be cancelled in the wake of the violations that have come to fore during the raids on February 11.

The raids were conducted jointly by Revenue and police officials following The Indian Express expose. Meanwhile, CCTV cameras have been installed at the spot to check illicit activities.

The authorities have also initiated setting up of a way-bridge on the spot to check overloading of trucks.

“Various violations were noticed during the raids. So we have issued showcause notices returnable by February 28 to six of these mines as to why their leases should not be cancelled,” said Additional Collector, Aheri, Mahesh Awhad.

Awhad added, “We have also returned to the police seeking a report on action taken against the violators for violations.” No FIR has been registered in the case despite seizure of 74 trucks and four JCBs on February 11. The Revenue officials have slapped a fine of Rs 7.2 lakh on the leasees for the violations.

(Source: http://indianexpress.com/)