Haryana slaps Rs 134-crore fine on pvt mining firm
Bhartesh Singh Thakur
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 3
The Haryana Department of Mines and Geology has imposed a penalty of Rs 134.09 crore on a private firm over alleged illegal mining in Rattewali block of Panchkula.
In an “action taken report” submitted before the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the department said the mining operations of the firm, Tirupati Roadways, had been suspended by the Director General of Mines and Geology, Haryana, Mandip Singh Brar, vide an order dated May 22.
Tirupati Roadways was the highest bidder at Rs 11.72 crore per annum for the Rattewali block, having an area of 45 hectares, during an e-auction in 2017. The firm was permitted to extract 8.39 lakh MT of boulders, gravel and sand annually. It commenced mining operations on March 21, 2020.
During a surprise check on May 11, 2022, a team of the Haryana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) found that between May 5 and May 11, a total of 1,868 trucks were involved in transporting the mined material whereas bills mentioning GST, royalty, etc., were issued for only 518 trucks. It was found that the contractor allegedly extracted 47.66 lakh MT of minerals illegally.
The then Director of Mines and Geology constituted a committee that inspected the mine on November 23, 2022, and further detected illegal mining of 18,467 MT within the contracted area and 2.75 lakh MT in an area adjoining the contracted zone. During another inspection on June 15, 2023, fresh illegal excavation of 16.44 lakh MT was discovered.
The Mining Officer issued a show-cause notice to the firm on August 22, 2023, demanding Rs 134.09 crore as royalty, price and fine for the illegal excavation of 67.05 lakh MT of minerals. The firm submitted its reply on September 4, 2023, which was rejected.
Following this, Tirupati Roadways approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which directed the Mining Officer on January 20 to conduct a personal hearing of the firm. As no relief was granted, the firm filed an appeal before the Director General of Mines and Geology.
The firm argued that prior to the contract award, rampant illegal mining had occurred in the area and FIRs had been registered concerning this. They also claimed that the ACB’s inspection was not conducted using scientific methods.
Dismissing the appeal, the Director General of Mines and Geology stated that the ACB had conducted the survey with the help of surveyors from their department and the HARSAC, an established technical organisation of the state. He noted that a detailed report with depth-level maps had been prepared to assist the ACB. The Director General also pointed out that the FIRs submitted by the firm did not pertain to the areas in question.
The Director General ruled that if the penalty was not deposited within a month, the contract would be terminated.
During a previous hearing on May 10, the National Green Tribunal had instructed the mining department to submit the “action taken report” as a joint committee constituted by the tribunal had recommended suspending the letter of intent issued to Tirupati Roadways. The report has now been submitted. On August 1, the NGT granted the joint committee two weeks to file a report on the extent of illegal mining, assessment of environmental damage and identification of remedial actions based on their findings.
