When mineral blocks are duly notified for e-auction and accordingly allotted to contractors which lends credence to transparency, it is perhaps taken for granted that mining activities and extraction of minerals strictly as per rules must be going on as a routine which, to what extent is really true, is fairly known to the concerned authorities of UT Geology and Mining as also to the police authorities. Though the e-auctioning was not liked by the vested interests, it was challenged also in the High Court three years ago but the court upheld the reformed practice and dismissed several appeals against Government’s decision put forward by several mining contractors. In this connection, the court ruling was that it maximised public interest and national priorities. Mining and mineral extraction administration, in the UT under the circumstances, therefore, needs to be strengthened while expecting it to be responsive to and addressing all issues sprouting there-from like preserving and protecting the environment, ecology and bio-diversity of our rivers, Nallahs and streams. However, tactics of different hues of arms twisting by the mafia and it ”managing” whatever in the name of controlling and preventing illegal activities is being done , resorting to installation of mechanical means of keeping vigil and establishing the gross violations committed by the mafia, by sending warning signals etc, becomes extremely important . The resistance to even a small change in the prevalent system was not without reason and motives, however, it was soon felt that even the measure of e-auctioning was not a sufficient measure to put an end to the wanton loot of mineral wealth of our river basins and an intensified surveillance was mooted to be introduced for checking illegal mining and brazen transportation of the ”loot” which fetches attractive prices in the market and gets sold out like hot cakes. Better Surveillance System, a foolproof satellite monitoring system having an inbuilt automatic remote sensing detection technology, therefore, was decided to be properly introduced and employed across Jammu and Kashmir as a mode of containing, to a larger extent, illegal mining activities. The concerned Union Ministry had launched the advanced high tech surveillance system in the year 2016 to check the menace of illegal mining and pilferage and accordingly had impressed upon all States and UTs to install the system, yet although all formalities and requisite paper work is stated to have been completed by the concerned UT department, still it has eluded the main purpose and the need for it. Even though fast digitization is being introduced in Government departments and more and more services are brought under the ambit of innovative digital methods to benefit common citizens in respect of better and fast delivery of services, yet within the Government departments, inter-se, red tape continues to rule the roost. In other words, when it was tried to find out the reasons of the much hyped project of ”Better Surveillance System” not having moved beyond official files, it got revealed that the UT Finance Department and Jammu and Kashmir Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation (JKIDFC) had apparently shown little interest in the project by not releasing the funds required for it. We understand that when necessary procedural formalities in this regard have already been completed, therefore, where does the problem or the hitch exist which demands a resolution so that the project is completed, installed and proven effective in curbing illegal activities within a span of 500 metres of the existing mining boundary. Needless to add, we feel the department of Geology and Mining should have been otherwise earning sufficiently enough, at least as much as is required for financing and installation of the system, from out of the proceeds of the taxes, royalty and other charges earned from the mining activities. Otherwise, looking to how much colossal damage to the environment, river basins, embankments etc from illegal and haphazardly undertaken mining activities was causing besides denying due revenue to the UT Government from the mineral activities, administrative prudence demands attention to get focused on saving our mineral wealth of rivers from getting looted through illegal mining which operates under an organised network of a strong mafia. Can we, therefore, hope an early breakthrough in the subject matter by way of the Finance Department and the JKIDFC releasing the funds for the important project?
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