Dist admn imposes ban on heavy machinery near Sutlej banks

Facing rampant illegal sand mining under the cloak of the "Jihda Khet Usdi Ret" flood relief scheme, the Moga district administration has enforced a ban on heavy machinery near the Sutlej banks.

In a strong measure to check this blatant misuse, Deputy Commissioner Sagar Setia today banned the movement and use of all heavy machinery — including JCBs, Poclain machines, trucks and trolleys — for sand and soil extraction on the Sutlej riverbed and in a 500-m radius outside the river embankment in the Dharamkot sub-division.

The DC emphasised that the order was necessary as illegal extraction, often conducted under the garb of the relief scheme, posed a severe risk to the river bundhs and bridges, threatening potential loss of life and property.

The "Jihda Khet Usdi Ret" (the sand belongs to the field) scheme was intended to provide immediate relief to the flood-affected farmers by allowing them to lift and sell accumulated sand and silt from their fields without permit until December 31.

The relaxation was meant strictly for the rehabilitation of farmlands in 29 notified villages in Moga district.

However, the administration soon detected rampant illegal mining, where individuals were exploiting the exemption for commercial gains by extracting sand from the non-affected land and unauthorised commercial sites.

"The relaxation was strictly for rehabilitating farmlands, not for commercial mining," DM Setia clarified, adding that the new comprehensive ban was aimed at stopping the scheme, designed to bring relief, from being used as a cover for the mining mafia.

Meanwhile, the police have registered multiple cases and booked many individuals caught mining sand illegally from non-notified areas and commercial sites in violation of the scheme's terms, said Gurjinder Singh, XEN, Irrigation, Drainage, Mining & Geology Department.

The prohibition order will remain in force until December 31, demonstrating the district administration's resolve to stop unauthorized extraction along the river.