Sulah MLA flags illegal mining, demands Sukhu’s intervention

Our Correspondent

Palampur, August 19

BJP MLA from Sulah, Vipin Singh Parmar, has said illegal mining was going on unchecked over 30-km stretch of the Neugal river between Paror and Bair Ghatta.

Despite his persistent efforts during the past year, the administration had failed to check the illegal mining in the Neugal, a tributary of the Beas river, Parmar told The Tribune.

He alleged that the Mining Department and police were providing shelter to the mafia in the Sulah area. He said the illegal activity was not only leading to environmental degradation, but also causing loss to the exchequer.

Parmar said it was a matter of concern that illegal mining had become a law and order problem in his constituency Sulah. Recently, a panchayat up-pradhan was allegedly attacked by the mining mafia at a Van Mahotsav function. The police have arrested one culprit so far.

Parmar said he would raise the issue in the Assembly and won’t hesitate to hold a dharna if the government failed to check the illegal mining. He added that the residents of Sulah would also hit the roads if the practice was not stopped. He said the mining and police departments were aware of the fact that the NGT had imposed a complete ban on mining in the Neugal river.

However, instead of implementing the green tribunal’’s orders they had given a free hand to mafia to exploit the rich natural resources without paying any revenue to the state, he alleged. Parmar claimed that half-a-dozen irrigation schemes had gone defunct due to mining in the Neugal river.

He also expressed concern over the permission being granted for setting up of stone crushers and leasing out of land without any no-objection certificate (NOC) from panchayats and SDM. He said the government must inquire who had granted the permission.

Parmar urged Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to intervene and prevent the situation from getting worse. He said the illegal mining had caused large-scale environmental degradation leading to flashfloods and landslides in the Sulah area.

Despite repeated efforts, Mining Officer at Dharmsala could not be contacted. Dheera SDM Sanjiv Sharma said necessary steps were being taken to check the illegal mining.