J&K Dy CM ‘surprised’ to find suspended mining officials still on duty

Deputy Chief Minister of J&K, Surinder Choudhary, on Friday expressed surprise after finding several suspended officials of the Mining Department still working at the Directorate of Geology and Mining office in Jammu.

Choudhary noticed multiple discrepancies during a surprise inspection of the office, where he examined records and interacted with officials.

“I receive frequent complaints about illegal mining in different parts of the region, which is why I visited the office of the Director of Mining. People often record such illegal activities and upload them on social media,” the Deputy CM told reporters during the inspection.

He said he had visited the office to assess its functioning but was shocked to find officials, suspended by him earlier, still present and working.

“While I observed several shortcomings in the functioning of the office, many officials who were suspended on serious allegations of facilitating illegal mining were still working here. The Director was not present, so I could not discuss the matter, but I will ask the department’s Secretary to meet me,” Choudhary said, adding that many crushers across the region were involved in illegal mining.

Making serious allegations, Choudhary said, “I will ensure an in-depth inquiry into the functioning and discrepancies observed here. What I have seen suggests that some officials are facilitating illegal mining.”

He asserted that officials responsible for wrongdoing must face consequences, not the elected government.

Taking a dig at the dual power system, Choudhary said officials were exploiting the fact that J&K is a Union Territory. “The government is being defamed due to their actions. The Director’s office has turned into a fish market. I will seek the Chief Minister’s intervention if needed,” he added.