Stepping up efforts to stop illegal mining in Mahendragarh

Ravinder Saini

Mahendragarh, February 6

Illegal mining continues to be a burning issue in the border district of Mahendragarh, as all efforts by the authorities to check extraction of stones and riverbed sand seem to have fallen flat. Despite the seizure of 20 vehicles and registration of around 15 FIRs every month, mining is going on unabated.

Over six months ago, the administration fixed the responsibility of village sarpanches to stop illegal mining. Whether or not this effort proves adequate in the long run, most representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions have been prompt in informing the authorities about illegal mining and those indulging in it.

A district-level task force has also been formed in which officials from all departments review the efforts to stop mining operations and make new strategies every month.

Last year, the district police held a special campaign in over 100 villages of Nizampur, Nangal Chaudhary, Satnali, Mahendragarh and Narnaul towns to create awareness about the impact of illegal mining by conducting ‘munadi’ (public announcement). The villagers were told how illegal mining had caused a huge loss to the state exchequer, eating into the funds that would otherwise have been used for public welfare and developmental works. People were also warned of strict action if found to be aiding in unlawful mining activity. This campaign was carried out because many locals were found to be involved in illegal mining and transportation of material.

Bhupendra Singh, Mining Officer, Mahendragarh, said that most vehicles seized during the illegal transportation of mining material were tractor-trailers belonging to locals. He claimed that the number of cases involving illegal mining and transportation of riverbed sand was more than that of stone mining. As sand is used for construction purposes, people are mining it to sell it cheaper than the market rate. The official added that villagers attribute the locals’ involvement to the limited employment opportunities.

Mahendragarh does not have any major industries and unemployment is rampant. A gram sarpanch, who didn’t wish to be identified, said that unemployment was a major reason without a doubt. He also rued that the lack of strictness and absence of round-the-clock supervision had not helped authorities.

“As illegal mining operations are carried out at night, neither the people living nearby get a whiff of it, nor are the officials able to conduct raids easily. The mining mafia has also built temporary roads across the hills for transportation of material. As only they know about these roads, whenever the mining department or police teams conduct a raid, they are easily able to escape,” added the sarpanch.

In the past few months, Mines and Geology Department officials have blocked more than 40 such makeshift roads in Bigopur, Biharipur, Jainpur, Mukundpur, Basirpur and Ghataser villages. However, this has not deterred the perpetrators, who open newer roads in no time.

The mining mafia is now adopting new mining methods on the river banks. It recently came to light that residents of Mausampur and Shahpur Awal villages had given their land at the rate of Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh per acre to the mining mafia. This is for the first time that sand mining has been carried out on private land. Earlier, this sort of illegal mining was only carried out on panchayat land. During an investigation, the department found that residents of both the villages caused a revenue loss of Rs 61 lakh to the state government by providing their land to the miners.

“Mahendragarh district has seven mining zones and the area is quite extensive. However, we don’t have sufficient staff to monitor illegal mining activities round the clock. We plan to purchase drones for surveillance of the area, but it has not been implemented yet,” added an official.

He said that the Mining Department has only one inspector and eight guards at present. Considering the vastness of the area, at least three inspectors and 20 guards are required. A post manned by nine policemen has also been opened in Narnaul by the Haryana State Enforcement Bureau to deal with mining cases.

“The number of locals, who are habitual offenders and whose vehicles have been seized several times while transporting illegally mined material, is considerable,” he added.

Another mining official said that earlier the vehicles seized for illegal mining and transportation were released on ‘superdari’ after several months. Till then, their owners had to wait, while also suffering financial losses. Many of them would refrain from the illegal act in future. However, ever since the Haryana State Enforcement Bureau has been set up, cases of illegal mining in Mahendragarh are being registered at its station located in the neighbouring Rewari district.

“The vehicles impounded in cases involving illegal mining are now released at ‘superdari’ in less than a month. This is further emboldening the mining mafia,” he added.

In the last 10 months, 204 vehicles have been impounded. A fine of Rs 91 lakh has been imposed on these vehicles, while 151 FIRs have been registered in this respect from April 2023 to January 2024.

Admitting to the shortage of staff, Bhupendra Singh said that they were now making efforts to buy a drone to keep a tab on illegal mining.