Govt helpless before mining lobby: LoP

Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur hit out at the state government for its failure to curb illegal mining, forcing the ministers to make appeals to officials to check this menace.

In a statement issued here today, Thakur said the situation is so bad that even the Deputy Chief Minister and ministers appear helpless. “The manner in which the Deputy Chief Minister is appealing to officials to check illegal mining shows that he along with his Cabinet colleagues are helpless before the powerful mining lobby,” said Thakur.

He said the public statements of the Deputy CM and ministers to check illegal mining reflect the lack of coordination as such issues must be discussed in official meetings and not in public meetings. “It is this pathetic state of affairs that the people of Una, the home district of Dy CM, had to knock at the doors of the court to curb illegal mining in their area,” he said.

Thakur said people are so fed up that they have lost hope in the state government and are now looking towards the courts to provide them relief. “Under such circumstances the question which arises is as to who is giving political protection to the mining mafia,” he said. It appears that the state government is helpless before the powerful mining lobby, he added.