Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Nurpur, Rakesh Pathania on Thursday asked the state government to rein in mining mafia…
BJP MLA Rakesh Pathania. (Photo: SNS)
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Nurpur, Rakesh Pathania on Thursday asked the state government to rein in mining mafia in Himachal Pradesh and break the nexus, which is promoting it.
“It is an organised crime. You can’t check the mining mafia with soft attitude,” he said. Initiating discussion on unabated illegal and unscientific mining going on in HP, Pathania said the government must take strict action on ground.
“I am not against scientific mining. I am against the unscientific mining, which is going on in blatant violation of norms in ‘khads’ (rivulets) in HP. We need to regulate mining with strict laws so that the state gets revenue and the environment is also not damaged,” he said.
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Pathania said the industries minister in the last Assembly session had promised to visit the area near Chakki khad in Kangra district where illegal and unscientific mining had done much destruction. “But the minister never came,” he said.
Pathania said because of river bed mining in violation of norms, the Irrigation and Public Health Schemes, the hand pumps have dried over the years.
“Where is excessive river bed mining right under the nose of authorities taking the hill state to” he questioned.
He said the gravel from the Chakki khad is being illegally sent to Punjab and despite in the know of things, the concerned departments have taken no action.
Pathania alleged connivance at different levels, because of which illegal mining is going on unchecked. He cited a case, wherein mining lease permit in the name of woman was cancelled as she turned defaulter, but the same was later granted to her son. “What kind of action is this,” he said.
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