Himachal Assembly in Session: Heated exchanges over closure of stone crushers, BJP stages walkout
Lalit Mohan
Dharamsala, December 20
The Vidhan Sabha today witnessed heated exchanges between the ruling and opposition members over the issue of the closure of 129 stone crushers on the state government’s orders after the rain disaster. The BJP members staged a walkout from the House raising slogans and expressing dissatisfaction over the government’s reply to their queries.
5,600 rendered jobless
As many as 5,600 people were rendered jobless due to the closure of stone crushers in Kangra district. The government’s claim that it did not suffer revenue loss due to the closure of stone crushers was false. The Congress government targeted Kangra district by ordering the closure of stone crushers. Bikram Thakur, Jaswan Pragpur MLA
High prices of sand, gravel
The government decided to close 129 stone crushers without application of mind. People suffered due to the closure of stone crushers, as they had to pay high prices for sand and gravel. The increase in revenue from mining when the stone crushers were shut was primarily due to the high prices paid by people for sand and gravel. Jai Ram Thakur, leader of opposition
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, while speaking on the stone crushers’ issue on the second day of the winter session of the Assembly, said that many glaring irregularities in the operation of captive stone crushers were found in an inquiry. He added that the government was probing into revenue loss due to faulty mining policies adopted in the past.
Sukhu said, “An incident has come to the notice of the government where the mining lease was auctioned for Rs 7 crore but later a mining plan of Rs 24 crore was passed. This means that the state suffered a loss of Rs 17 crore per annum in the allotment of lease. This amounted to a loss of Rs 170 crore in 10 years for which the lease was given.”
He said that the government was considering a proposal to cap the rates of gravel sold by stone crushers. It was also aiming to generate a revenue of Rs 500 crore from mining.
The issue came up during the Question Hour when Industries Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan, while replying to a question of Sullah MLA Vipin Singh Parmar, informed the House that the state had not suffered any revenue loss due to the closure of stone crushers. He added that the government had earned Rs 204 crore from mining, almost the same revenue that it had earned last year despite the closure of stone crushers.
Chauhan said that 129 stone crushers located in the Beas river basin were shut under the Natural Disaster Act after people blamed stone crushers and illegal mining for their losses. As many as 73 stone crushers, the papers of which were found to be in order, were allowed to operate, he added.
Parmar said that the minister’s reply was not satisfactory. “The people of the state were forced to purchase sand and gravel at three times the actual prices due to the closure of stone crushers. While the stone crushers in Kangra and Mandi districts were closed, those in Solan, Una and Sirmaur districts were allowed to operate as if no disaster had occurred there.” He urged the government to disclose the names of the stone crushers that did not have proper papers.
