*Despite HC order, no liaison to check illegal activities
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Sept 6: Notwithstanding the fact that reckless mining in water bodies is fraught with many hazards, the extraction of minor minerals from the rivers in most unregulated manner is going on unchecked in Jammu and Kashmir as neither blocks have been designated for this activity nor serious efforts made to make the Minor Mineral Concession, Storage, Transportation of Minerals and Prevention of Illegal Mining Rules, 2016 operational by getting the stay vacated from the High Court.
Moreover, no seriousness has been shown towards ensuring proper liaison between the field functionaries of Geology and Mining Department and local police so as to check extraction of minor minerals during the night hours, which has been strongly opposed by the State High Court.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that after sleeping over the implementation of directions issued by the Supreme Court more than four years back, the Department of Geology and Mining vide SRO-105 dated March 31, 2016 came up with the rules for regulating the grant of various forms of mineral concessions in respect of minor minerals and storage, transportation of minerals and prevention of illegal mining in the State.
These rules, framed in the light of Apex Court directions dated February 27, 2012, were imperative to check adverse impact of uncontrolled mining/quarrying of minerals on riverbeds. As J&K Minor Mineral Concession, Storage, Transportation of Minerals and Prevention of Illegal Mining Rules, 2016 were aimed at ensuring scientific and environmental friendly mining, the Department of Geology and Mining in the month of April initiated the process of open auction for grant of mining lease/quarry license.
However, some persons approached the High Court against this move of the department and obtained the stay on certain grounds as a result of which the new Rules could not be made operational till date as stay is in vogue at present also mainly because of slackness on the part of all the concerned authorities in convincing the High Court that new rules were framed as per the directions of the Supreme Court and are aimed at checking the multiple hazards of extraction of minor minerals in unregulated manner.
“The non-serious approach in getting the stay vacated is notwithstanding the fact that Commissioner Secretary to Government, Industries and Commerce Department vide numerous circulars particularly the one dated January 12, 2016 had laid stress on regular follow-up of the court cases so that activities of different wings of the Industries and Commerce Department don’t suffer because of interim orders from the judiciary”, sources said.
Due to failure to vigorously pursue the case with the High Court, the Geology and Mining Department is periodically issuing SROs extending the existing provisions on the ground of ensuring uninterrupted supply of minor mineral to the consumers, which otherwise defeats the objective of the Supreme Court directions as well as notifications issued by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests on the subject, sources regretted while disclosing that by way of latest SRO the existing practice of extracting minor mineral has been extended till March 31, 2017.
“The intensity of the non-seriousness towards unregulated extraction of minor mineral can further be gauged from the fact that the department has even failed to designate the blocks in the river beds for this activity despite being aware about the hazards of unchecked activities which include degradation of rivers, generation of noise and air pollution etc”, sources said, adding “even the Geology and Mining Department doesn’t have the sufficient manpower to check uncontrolled extraction of minor minerals during the night hours, which is generally preferred by those associated with this trade in order to avoid royalty”.
They further said: “The department is acting as mute spectator to illegal activities during night hours despite the fact that Division Bench of State High Court comprising Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice B S Walia early last month had observed, in a Public Interest Litigation, that mafia has been permitted to have a free hand on extraction of minor minerals”.
The DB had also directed the Geology and Mining Department to sit with the local police and come up with the mechanism to check menace of illegal extraction of minor minerals from water bodies particularly River Tawi during night hours. “However, no step has been taken in this regard by the department and it has preferred to remain mute spectator to the illegal activity”, sources informed.
When contacted, Mukhtar Ahmed Wani, Assistant Mining Engineer confirmed that department doesn’t have sufficient manpower for deployment during the night hours. He also admitted that mafia was generally carrying out extraction activities during the night hours as observed by the High Court.
Also admitting that blocks for extraction have yet not been designated, he said, “all the problems will be resolved once the new rules become operational”, adding “we have filed objections before the High Court in response to interim orders on open auction but rules are required to be amended by the Government as such the decision is to be taken at highest level”.
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