Thural villagers oppose auction of mining sites

Ravinder Sood

Palampur, March 6

Villagers of Thural and its adjoining panchayats have appealed to Kangra Deputy Commissioner Hem Raj Bairwa to stay the proposed auctions of six mining sites in the rivulets of the tehsil. They told the Deputy Commissioner that if the Mining Department was allowed to auction these sites, it would encourage illegal mining. It would also pose a serious threat to the existence of water supply schemes and bridges in the area.

Yesterday, the Mining Department issued a notification for the auction of six sites in the rivers and rivulets of Thural for the disposal of sand and stones that had rolled down during the last monsoon. The villagers said that if these sites were auctioned, the mining mafia would get access to these rivulets. Such people would play havoc with the nature, therefore the Mining Department should withdraw its decision.

Though the Mining Department has notified the amount of material to be lifted from these sites, once the auction is completed, there would be no check and the mining mafia will get a licence to loot the rich natural wealth of the state.

Talking to mediapersons, Sanjiv Guleria, member of Thural panchayat, and Ashwani Gautam said that it was on record that in August last year, the Mining Department had auctioned a site near Bal Bhurian. In the absence of any check, the mafia dug deep trenches in forestland and played havoc with the nature. Despite repeated complaints to the mining and public works departments, no action had been taken against the mafia till date and the digging of forestland goes on.

Seema Devi and panchayat pardhan Sat Pal said that if the Mining Department was allowed to auction these sites in rivers and rivulets, it would result in large-scale environmental degradation. They added that Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu should intervene into the matter immediately.

Meanwhile, SDM, Dheera, Rakesh Sharma said he had received submissions from residents of the Thural area. He added that before auctioning the sites, he would take into confidence local residents, panchayats and other stakeholders. He would also seek the opinion of experts before allowing the auction of the sites but environmental degradation would not be permitted.

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#Illegal Mining #Kangra #Palampur