Satti: Cong, outsiders to blame for illegal mining

Our Correspondent

Una, December 4

State Finance Commission chairman Satpal Singh Satti today blamed the Congress and mining lessees from outside the state for rampant mining activities in the Swan river.

Addressing mediapersons here today, Satti said before 2012, there were just two open mining leases in the district, but when the current Leader of Opposition Mukesh Agnihotri was Industries and Mining Minister, 37 new mining leases and 22 new stone crushers were sanctioned.

Daring Agnihotri for an open debate on the illegal mining issue, Satti said most of the lessees were Congressmen and only three or four persons with the BJP ideology must be doing the mining business in the Swan river. He said most of the leases issued during the Congress regime were to people from Punjab, ignoring the rights of locals.

Satti said some lessees, who were were from Punjab, were involved in illegal mining, creating public nuisance and beating up locals. He said the situation was so bad that the police were forced to work all night to check illegal mining.

Satti said the BJP was in favour of scientific mining of sand, stone and gravel, adding that the Jai Ram Thakur government had banned the use of Poclain machines and heavy tippers in the river basins. Besides, he said mining check posts were being set up on inter-state barriers to check documents and overloading of mining material.

He said the Una-Santoshgarh road, which was strengthened recently for Rs 12 crore, had been badly damaged by overloaded tippers. He said he would ask the Chief Minister to order that no vehicle except tractors be allowed inside the rivers.