Successful bidders waiting for one-year for environmental clearance
Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar, June 6: As successful bidders of mining in Kashmir are waiting for environmental clearance for over the last one year, the Government is losing crores of rupees daily as royalty with dealers and common man suffering as prices of material have skyrocketed due to administrative failure.
Government in December 2019 auctioned 200 blocks in river Jhelum and its tributaries for mining sand and boulders to mostly outside Jammu and Kashmir companies and they were expecting hundreds of crores as royalty but for the last over a year the successful bidders are waiting for the environmental clearance to start mining.
Joint Director Geology and Mining Kashmir, Nisar Ahmad Khan, told Excelsior that only 15 blocks in Kupwara and Kulgam have got environmental clearance and rest 185 have yet to get it. “They will get consent to operate only after environmental clearance”, he said.
As the administration has failed to pursue environmental clearance it has resulted in illegal mining and even the material used for macadamisation and other Government works is illegally mined. Besides the Government, truckers and sand, boulder and gravel dealers and common man are suffering huge losses due to lack of permission for mining.
A dealer told Excelsior that they are suffering huge losses due to the administration’s indifferent attitude. “Police register FIRs in illegal mining and for carrying mined material illegally if any of the trucks is seized. The advocate takes Rs 30,000 for pursuing the case in the Court and every truck is fined at least Rs 50,000 and the vehicle remains in the Police Station for two weeks and driver has to spend a week in police custody. It is a huge amount but there is no other option”, he said.
An official said that they have realised Rs 75 lakh as fine from the truckers for carrying illegally mined material during the last two months. “The truckers have no option as they have to pay huge EMI to the bank and feed their families as well. They take a chance to ferry illegally mined material as the Government has not rehabilitated them in absence of mining”, he said.
Mohammad Ayub, a dealer in mined materials, said that during the last two weeks his four trucks were seized and he had to spend Rs 2 lakh in getting them and drivers released. “The truckers have no option than to carry the illegally mined material as they have to feed their families. They have bank loans and families behind”, he said.
“The ultimate brunt is being borne by the customer who has to pay Rs 14,000 to Rs 15,000 for a truck load of sand which will normally cost him Rs 5000 and Rs 8000-Rs 9000 for gravel which normally costs Rs 4000”, he said.
“Normally the royalty for a truckload of sand is Rs 150 or Rs 170 but when it is illegally mined, a customer has to cough up at least Rs 10,000 extra”, said an official.
“Government should look into the matter and prevent this loot. The construction can’t be stopped as it gives employment to around 10 lakh people from miners to labourers working at construction sites on a daily basis”, said Omar Bhat, a social activist.
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