State govt turns blind eye to crusher units using illegal DG sets

The Punjab Government is turning a blind eye to crusher units operating in the mining-rich district of Pathankot during the ongoing rainy season, an activity which has been banned by the government.

According to the norms, no crusher can operate from July 1 till September 30. The ban has been enforced to ensure that riverbanks are protected and erosion is prevented.

Crushers are machines that reduce the size of large rocks and stones into smaller fragments. There are no exact figures available on illegal crushers operating because such activity is carried on clandestinely. However, sources claim numerous units are operating leading to an ecological imbalance in the area.

Abhijit Kaplish, Director (Mines and Geology), said, “Action will be taken against crushers mining on riverbed sites during the monsoon season. I have instructed the District Mining Officers (DMO) to take action against the offenders.”

Despite the ban, the police have not registered even a single case. Pathankot SSP Daljinder Singh Dhillon said, “We have a dedicated team to deal with mining offenses but the team acts only after it gets the green signal from the mining department.”

Insiders say yet another aspect which is being constantly ignored by crushing units is the illegal use of diesel generator (DG) sets above the mandated capacity of 10 KW. “Rules state that a 10 KW DG set is allowed to be used and that too only for office purposes. The installation of a generator exceeding this capacity will result in the suspension or termination of the crusher unit’s registration,” said an official. Sources, however, said crushers were using sets of 150-200 KW capacity to engage in illegal mining.

Lakshman Nayyer, president of the Pathankot Crushers’ Association, said they had already purchased expensive DG sets more than the mandated capacity much before the ban came into place. “What will we do with these DG sets as now there is a ban on operating them?” he said.

Abhijeet Kaplish said rules pertaining to DG sets had been formulated just recently. “We should give adequate time to crushers to come to terms with the new regulations,” he said.

On August 14, after getting information that sets of more than the fixed capacity were being used, the Executive Engineer, Hoshiarpur Drainage-cum-Mining and Geology Division, wrote to the Hoshiarpur Crushers’ Association to “immediately remove such sets”. “This applies to Pathankot district too and DG sets above the fixed capacity must be removed,” said a mining department officer.

However, insiders say this has had little impact and crushing units were openly using sets far exceeding the norms. They are being used to engage in illegal mining, openly defying the ban.

The crushing units are allowed to sell only previous months stocks during the rainy season. Rules state that the mining department’s portal will automatically close if any fresh stocks are sold. However, these units are doing a roaring business as the portals seldom close which allows units to sell fresh stocks too.