Residents raise hue & cry over passage given to stone crushers' owners by panchayat of Rampur village
Garhshankar, July 14
Due to heavy rains, water from ravines and choes almost flooded 10 villages in the area. A passage given by panchayat of Rampur village in Garhshankar tehsil from its forest area to heavy vehicles laden with soil, sand and gravel coming from stone crushers in Himachal Pradesh is being considered the main reason behind flooding of villages. Due to regular plying of heavy trucks, the level of the passage has gone down considerably. So, the rainwater that used to flow into khuds now enters villages.
People of the area are of the view that water coming from gorges entered villages through the passage and damaged crops on hundreds of acres. The water also damaged forest property.
Residents said water of the Gondpur khud (ravine) and choes in Himachal Pradesh flowed towards Punjab villages through the passage. The flood water carried away dry wood, sand, stone and other forest material and widened the passage from 40 to 50 feet.
The passage was given to owners of stone crushers through the forest area under an agreement to pay a handsome amount per month as rent to panchayat of Rampur village. The agreement was approved by senior officials of various departments.
In October 2022, officials of the Forest Department had written to the higher authorities regarding destruction of watersheds along the passage, violation of Sections 4 and 5 of the Forest Act and damage to the forest property, but no action was taken in this regard.
Hundreds of tippers loaded with mining materials from Gondpur village in Himachal Pradesh reach Garhshankar through different villages. Link roads have been damaged due to plying of heavy trucks.
Besides, the track of the Kandi canal has also been damaged at five places as water of ravines and choes in Himachal Pradesh enters into it. CPI (M) provincial secretary and Punjab Kisan Sabha vice president Gurnek Singh Bhajjal said the illegal corridor given by the panchayat to stone crusher owners reportedly under the government pressure had led to increase in drug and forest material smuggling between Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.
Rampur village sarpanch Harmesh Kumar said the passage was given by the panchayat at a rent of Rs 65,000 per month to owners of stone crushers. He said this year, the rent was raised by 12 per cent.
He said water of the Gondpur Khud had been flowing to the village. He said no doubt the passage has widened by 40 to 50 feet but it was not the cause of flooding in village. He said the village was flooded as it rained heavily this year.
Kandi canal Executive Engineer Siddharth Verma said, “The department has closed entry of tippers by installing barricades along the canal track many times, but these are broken. Heavy tippers pass through the track due to which it has been damaged.”
District Forest Officer Harbhajan Singh said he had taken charge last month and would visit the said spot. He said action would be taken against violators as per rules.
