Date | Oct 03, 2017:

ILLEGAL MINING seems to have resumed at Majri block in Kharar subdivision as monsoon has come to an end. Residents of the affected villages have alleged that officials of the mining department have not been taking appropriate action against illegal miners. Deputy Commissioner (DC) Gurpreet Kaur Sapra, too, said there was lack of cooperation from the mining department in stopping illegal mining in the area.

Sher Mohammad, a resident of Khijrabaad village, told Chandigarh Newsline that after the rainy season ended, illegal miners have again started entering the shamlat land (village common land) and dig up sand throughout the night. He added that though some youngsters of their village had stopped a tipper laden with sand on Saturday, the driver threatened them. “It has become a routine affair here. Whenever we stop any tipper taking away sand, either the driver or some people of the contractor use to threaten us. We have informed the police about it,” he added.

Sukhwinder Singh, another resident of the village, said they have informed the local mining officials many a time but they have refused to take action. “We know that whenever we lodge any complaint against illegal mining with mining officials, they used to tip off the people involved in the illegal practice. When the police party reaches the spot, they manage to flee,” alleged Sukhwinder.

Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Charandev Singh Mann, who is also the nodal officer for keeping tabs on illegal mining, said they had formed the teams and whenever they receive complaints, they send their teams at the spot and take action. When Mann was asked how many complaints had been lodged on the portal launched for lodging complaints against illegal mining last month, he told Chandigarh Newsline that they were yet to receive complaints. “We got some cases registered also. Around 70 cases have been registered this year against illegal mining,” he added.

The DC, on the other hand, said the mining department was not being pro-active. She added that she had directed the officials of the department to tell her if they needed any help to stop illegal mining but nobody ever came to inform her either about the problem of illegal mining or seek any help. “My SDM cannot look after everything. It is the duty of the mining department to inform me but strangely nobody ever came to me. It means that there is a lack of co-operation from their side,” stated Sapra.

District mining officer C L Garg was not available for comment. The DC had conducted a surprise check in the area in June after receiving complaints from the villagers about the unabated illegal mining.

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