Ropar village panchayat booked for 'illegal mining'

Tribune News Service

Ropar, May 19

Over 50,000 truckloads of sand and gravel was lifted from the panchayat land near Bhallari Majaari village while the village panchayat and authorities remained oblivious.

50K truckloads of sand, gravel lifted

• Over 50K truckloads of sand and gravel was lifted from the panchayat land
• The price of illegally-lifted material was Rs 25 crore on pithead while its Rs 100 crore in the retail market

According to stakeholders, the price of illegally-lifted material was more than Rs 25 crore on pithead while its cost in the retail market is over Rs 100 crore.

The police have booked the village panchayat and unidentified persons in the case, following a complaint by local residents. Nangal SHO Danish Veer Singh said a complaint had been received from the Mining Department and a case under Section 4 (1) and 21 (1) of Mines and Minerals Act has been registered against the Majaari village panchayat and some unidentified persons.

Village sarpanch Kulwinder Kaur’s husband Gurcharan Singh Sodhi claimed that the village panchayat had already lodged several complaints with the authorities in this regard and no action was taken to stop illegal mining. Sodhi also denied any lapse on the part of the village panchayat.

According to information, locals, in their complaint with the police and the Mining Department, alleged that 24 acre of panchayat land was dug up by mining mafia with the connivance of village panchayat. They also alleged that their earlier requests in this regard went unheard due to political influence.

Mining Department SDO Navpreet Singh said a team found that over 4.52 cubic feet of material had been stolen from 33 acre of land adjoining the Swan river.

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