Illegal mining unabated on banks of Beas tributaries in Palampur, Sullah

Jaisinghpur, Sullah and Palampur in Kangra district are facing significant environmental degradation due to rampant illegal mining along a 100-km stretch of the Neugal, Mol, Awa and Binwa rivers, all tributaries of the Beas. Mining operations have led to the destruction of the green cover as forestland is misused to access riverbeds. The mining mafia has illegally axed trees and constructed roads through forest areas, exacerbating the ecological crisis.

Jaisinghpur town is also facing environmental threats because of 12 stone crushers operational on its outskirts. Since there is an acute shortage of raw material, illegal miners have entered private and government land in gross violation of rules. Local residents say that the mining mafia has dug deep trenches along the Beas to extract raw material and these trenches have become death traps for small children and animals. Several animals and kids have died so far.

The state government has a mining policy but still the extraction of sand and boulders continues unchecked. The mafia employs tractors, tippers and earthmovers to operate round the clock and only temporarily halts activities during raids by the police or the Mining Department. However, it quickly resumes operations, often reconstructing dismantled illegal roads.

In a recent incident, the mafia rebuilt roads to riverbeds near Kaisana Mandir in Sullah, which the authorities had destroyed earlier. This relentless activity has even affected the riverbanks. Concerned by the lack of strict government action, local panchayats and the youth of Thural, Challaha Naun, Sedu and Dirhar — hotspots of illegal mining — have formed a committee to monitor and report such illegal activities. This group had earlier compelled the authorities concerned to dismantle roads constructed illegally through forestland.

Palampur Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Sanjiv Sharma says that teams have been deployed to monitor illegal mining, particularly in Baijnath, Jaisinghpur and Dheera subdivisions. The Forest Department has already dismantled most of the illegal roads leading to riverbeds. Sharma emphasises that unauthorised paths to rivers will not be tolerated and firm action will be taken against the mafia responsible for environmental damage.

Panchayat pradhan Seema Devi and up-pradhan Sat Pal say that since the water level in the Beas and the Neugal has gone down in the past one month, illegal mining has picked up. They add that the use of heavy machinery in mining be banned immediately. “Since when the government has allowed the use of JCB and Poclain machines, earthmovers for mining in the state. The mining mafia has played havoc with the environment. By paying a nominal fee to the state government, the mafia has been causing huge losses to the state exchequer.

“Illegal mining poses a severe threat to the region’s green cover, biodiversity and water resources. While some steps have been taken, stricter implementation of laws and community involvement are critical to curbing this menace and preserving the fragile ecosystem,” says local environmentalist Ashwani Gautam, who has launched a massive campaign against illegal mining in the Neugal river.