Areas not earmarked, illegal mining flourishing

Jaisinghpur MLA’s claim

— Jaisinghpur MLA Ravinder Ravi Dhiman claimed that the main issue was that mining was not being carried in the allotted areas by the owners of the stone crushers as there was hardly any mining material left there.

— Now, the mining activities were going on in the non-leased area.

What villagers say

— Panchayat representatives have demanded that the area under lease should be earmarked in the presence of revenue officers, panchayats and local residents so that they were aware which area had actually been allotted for mining.

— At present, no one knows which piece of the land or which rivulets had been leased out for the mining.

— Villagers alleged that there was free for all and the mining was going on in all the rivulets in full swing.

Ravinder Sood

Jaisinghpur, November 17

Every river and khad in the Jaisinghpur area of Kangra district is prone to illegal mining as dozen of tractors are allegedly engaged in the activity.

As a result of the illegal mining, natural water resources are drying up, water level in khads has gone down, rivers are changing their course leading to floods and fertile land is being rendered barren in this remote subdivision of Kangra. Large-scale pollution in the area has made lives of the local residents miserable.

As per the directions of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the state government, the mining authorities are supposed to earmark the area allotted for mining with flags so that no illegal mining is carried out outside the leased area.

In fact, due to the absence of proper demarcation of the land leased out to stone crushers the administration has failed miserably in the checking illegal mining going on in the Beas and other rivulets. Today most of the crushers have been indulging in mining in all parts of the Beas.

State Geologist, Shimla, had written letters in this regard to District Mining Officer, Dharamsala, during the past two years but mining officer failed to earmark the leased area, benefiting mining mafia, resident alleged.

During a visit to various mining sites by The Tribune team today no demarcation of land flags around the mining area was seen. There was no visible marking of the area allotted for mining so that public, panchayats and revenue agencies could identify as to which part of the land had actually been allotted for mining.

However, most of the owners of the stone crushers, when asked, claimed that they had valid lease permits granted by the state government, but none could provide the copies of lease documents to media persons.

Contrary to their claims, Jaisinghpur MLA Ravinder Ravi Dhiman claimed that the main issue was that mining was not being carried in the allotted areas by the owners of the stone crushers as there was hardly any mining material left there. Now, the mining activities were going on in the non-leased area. He said the mining department should tell the public how the stone crushers were carrying on mining in other lands when they do not have any legal documents to show.

Panchayat representatives of half a dozen panchayats have urged Kangra Deputy Commissioner Sandeep Kumar that the area under lease should be earmarked in the presence of revenue officers, panchayats and local residents so that they were aware which area had actually been allotted for mining. At present, no one knows which piece of the land or which rivulets had been leased out for the mining by the department to stone crushers and other contractors.

Villagers alleged that there was free for all and the mining was going on in all the rivulets in full swing, without any check from the mining department or the local administration.

They demanded that the order of NGT passed last month should be implemented at earliest so that mining near the river was stopped.