Resolve mining issue on priority, fix royalty rates: DDC Chairman

DDC chairman Bharat Bhushan in a meeting with officers at Jammu on Tuesday.
DDC chairman Bharat Bhushan in a meeting with officers at Jammu on Tuesday.

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, June 1: DDC Chairman Jammu Bharat Bhushan Bodhi along with Vice Chairman Jammu, Suraj Singh Bhau asked Deputy Commissioner Jammu Anshul Garg to resolve the mining issue as soon as possible to give a sigh of relief to people facing hardships due to non-availability of construction material.
At the outset of the meeting, the DDC Chairman asked the DC Jammu for taking up the matter of mining on priority as the people have become fed-up with the blanket ban on construction material and those who are somehow getting the same are paying four to five times more than the actual rates. He said that the places in the outskirts of Jammu and in Chenab basin near Akhnoor where some relaxation is given for mining, the royalty rates are not fixed thus leaving scope for the operators to sell the construction material including sand, bajri at exorbitant rates.
“There is dire need to check this malpractice and ensure that the construction material reaches at the construction site on the rates fixed by the Government and not on whims and fancies of operators ferrying this material”, the DDC Chairman told DC and asked him to take necessary steps in this direction.
Besides, Bharat Bhushan Bodhi also took up the matter of renewal of arms licenses in Jammu district as this issue was also lingering for quite some time and people are worried about the delay caused in the process.
The DDC Chairman also raised the issue of compensation to farmers of Treva and Garkhal villages affected due to complete devastation of their wheat crop by the fire that gutted the standing crop. He asked the DC to speed-up the process and make sure that the fire-hit farmers get justice as soon as possible.
Taking up another issue of vital importance, DDC Chairman asked the DC Jammu to immediately take cognizance into the matter of conversion of agriculture land into residential in village Chak Sardar Attar Singh falling under Phalian Mandal by some unscrupulous elements. He said that on the aforesaid agriculture land chunk a residential colony is being raised which is an illegal act and should be stopped at the earliest.
The DDC Chairman told the DC Jammu that the wall which is raised to build this colony has blocked the natural flow of water which used to flow during rainy season and was good for fields falling in the catchment area downstream. He said that it is criminal to stop the natural water source and also convert the status of agricultural land without prior permission. He asked the DC to act under law and stop the illegal activity henceforth.
ADDC Jammu Ghansham, DMO Jammu Vishal and ACR Jammu Vijay Sharma were also present in the meeting.