NGOs seek shifting of 4 mining zone heads to respective offices
Six non-government organisations (NGOs) working for the protection of environment in the district today demanded the shifting of the office of the zonal head for the Kangra mining zone from Shimla to Dharamsala.
Speaking on the behalf of the NGOs, Subhash Sharma, co-convener of the People’s Voice NGO, which had been fighting against environmental degradation in Neugal and other rivers of Kangra, said the state government had created four zones headed by geologists in 2022 to effectively enforce mining laws and check illegal mining. The head offices of the four zones were proposed at Shimla, Mandi, Kangra and Solan.
However, even after two-and-a-half years, the government hasn’t shifted the officers to respective zones, Sharma said. At present, zonal heads of Mandi, Kangra and Solan zones are functioning from Shimla. He appealed to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to shift all the four mining zones to respective head offices notified by the government in 2022.
“In fact, the government should have shifted the other three state geologists to their zones in Mandi, Solan and Dharamsala, as these areas are prone to illegal mining and stringent measures are needed to check the menace,” the NGO co-convener said.
The NGOs, which have signed a memorandum in this regard include People’s Voice, Environment Healers, Save River Save Environment, Palampur Welfare and Environment Protection Forum and Save Neugal River.
Sharma pointed out that there was space constraint in Shimla as the government had vacated the Udyog Bhavan for the new benches of the High Court. “The office of Industry and Mining Departments have been shifted to the SDA Complex, where limited space is available. Each zone, headed by a state geologist, has a four or five staff members, who can be accommodated in far less rent in Solan, Dharamsala and Mandi. Still, the government is not serious about shifting these offices to the respective zones,” Sharma added.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT)and the High Court have expressed concern over illegal mining and environmental degradation in the state. The HC has recently taken a suo moto cognisance of a news item, which appeared in The Tribune, pertaining to illegal mining in Jaisinghpur. The court has issued notices to the Chief Secretary and Kangra Deputy Commissioner seeking a status report.
Three years ago, on the directions of the NGT, the government had delegated powers to SDMs for confiscating property of persons involved in illegal mining.
However, there is no let up in the illegal mining in Kangra district. The state government had failed to curb the nefarious activity, even as it was causing a huge loss to the exchequer, besides exploitation of natural resources. The government decision allowing the use of heavy machinery like JCB and Poclain machines for mining has virtually played havoc with the nature. The heavy machinery has damaged several drinking and lift water supply schemes in the absence of any check from the Mining Department.
