Laws not stern enough, illegal mining mafia have a free run in Faridabad, Palwal

Tribune News Service

Bijendra Ahlawat

Faridabad/ Palwal, January 8

With the poorly framed penal law and stringent provisions missing, it has been difficult to curb illegal mining in the district, say sources in the district administration.

With a total of 832 cases and a penalty of Rs 13.09 crore recovered from the offenders in the past three years (August 28, 2019- Jun 30, 2022), no incident of long-term imprisonment has surfaced in Faridabad and Palwal districts in the recent past, said the sources .

“While the Chapter IX of the Mines Act, 1952, deals with penalties and procedures where punishment varies from three months to two years only, the police cannot register any case for the commission of offences under the Mines Act on their own,” says OP Sharma, a veteran lawyer, here. He said rigorous punishment was needed in wake of the gravity of the situation.

Blaming the laws and the official machinery for laxity, Sunil Harsana, an ecological activist, said since such an activity was a compoundable offence, the incident invited action under Section 379 (theft) and Section 188 of the IPC, when the accused was arrested. He said Section 379 was imposed only on the recovery of the material. The officials were authorised to impose a penalty on the damage done. In a majority of cases, a penalty was imposed on those who were caught while extraction or disposal of the material. The case was transferred to the court only after one failed to pay the fine. He further said in case of an arrest, the accused got bail in two or three days and the case was likely to be disposed of within two or three years due to the lack of witness or the investigating official beingtransferred. In some cases the accused was told to plant trees as a punishment, it is claimed.

Claiming that there was no case of illegal mining of stones in Faridabad, an official said the incidents of mineral theft, including river sand in Palwal districts, were dealt with as per the law. A district-level task force headed by the Deputy Commissioner has been functional to monitor or stop illegal mining, he says.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT), in its order April 23, 2019, directed the recovery of compensation equivalent to at least 50 per cent of the showroom value of vehicles found indulging in illegal mining or transportation of such minerals. A penalty ranging between Rs 2 and 4 lakh was set for such vehicles.

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