Punjab: Illegal mining goes unchecked on Swan riverbed of Anandpur Sahib despite heavy police presence

Illegal mining operations are allegedly being carried out during night hours on the Swan riverbed of Anandpur Sahib, at a time when thousands of police personnel remain deployed for the ongoing Hola Mohalla celebrations in the district. This comes despite a ban imposed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on desilting and mining activities last month.

Around 4,500 police personnel have been stationed in and around Anandpur Sahib to maintain law and order during the annual festival. However, large-scale illegal mining activity under the cover of darkness raises a serious question mark on enforcement and monitoring by the authorities.

A visit by The Tribune during late-night hours revealed 16 heavy machines, including JCBs and poclain machines, busy carrying out mining activity in the riverbed.

The machines were seen extracting sand and gravel and loading the material on to the waiting tippers. These vehicles were then reportedly transporting the extracted material to nearby stone crushers. Despite the noise of stone crushers functioning overnight, no visible action seems to have been taken by the departments concerned, complain area residents.

The NGT had last month passed three significant orders aimed at curbing illegal mining in Punjab, including in Ropar district. In its directives, the tribunal had banned desilting operations at all 85 approved mining sites across the state until environmental clearances were obtained in accordance with legal requirements.

The tribunal’s orders came amid concerns over unchecked extraction of riverbed material and its environmental impact. Following the NGT’s order, the Punjab Government had moved the Supreme Court, which declined any immediate relief and directed the state to approach the tribunal.

Despite the court order, the ongoing mining activity in the Swan river — and reports of similar operations in parts of the Sutlej river belt of Ropar district — raises a question mark on the implementation of the directives.

Environmental experts have long warned that indiscriminate mining in riverbeds can lead to serious ecological consequences, including lowering of the water table, destabilisation of riverbanks, increased flood risks and damage to aquatic ecosystems.

The Swan, a seasonal tributary, has particularly been vulnerable to excessive extraction in recent years. Officials from the mining and district administration were not immediately available for comment.