Excelsior Correspondent
SAMBA, May 4: Provincial president of Apni Party from Jammu and former minister, Manjit Singh today urged Lt Governor Manoj Sinha to hold a high level probe into the nexus between police and local administration with the mining mafia.
In a statement to the press, Manjit Singh said that Apni Party has been raising this issue from last several months that nexus between police and administration with the mining mafia has snatched right of local miners and left the people associated with the business jobless.
“The Govt should have paid attention towards the serious issues which has badly affected the local miners engaged in extraction of minerals following permission from the administration. However, their rights have been snatched by permitting mining mafia which led to the suffering of people in general,” Singh said.
In reference to the allegations of a ruling party’s former legislator, the former minister said that the Govt should order a high level probe into the allegations and transfer such officials from the posts with immediate effect before the initiation of an enquiry.
“A probe is must to expose the mining mafia and their associates which ultimately compelled a former legislator of ruling political party to speak publicly against own party leaders and Mining Department officials and Police Department,” he said.
He said that an impartial probe is imperative to unearth alleged involvement of a Union Minister and Mining officials.
He said that the families of local miners have been suffering due to this nexus which works in a well organized manner.
“We will not allow mining mafia to flourish in J&K. It is right of the local miners at Panchayat and block level to extract minerals and no outsiders should be allowed to grab their business. The locals at small level extract minerals and the rates also remain in control. The mafia has deliberately increased rates of sand, stones and other minerals used in construction works,” he alleged.
He alleged that the mining mafia is working in protection and exploiting the resources of J&K causing damage to local ecology and selling same material on higher rates to the people of the erstwhile state.
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