With the mafias thriving on smuggling of minor minerals combating the enforcement agencies with hostility, the State’s Revenue and Disaster Management department has sought increased security for officials engaged in checking illegal mining and theft of minor minerals.
“During enforcement activities, the officers and squads are not only facing unyielding resistance from the mafias and organised anti-socials but are often being subjected to their physical assault”, State’s Revenue and Disaster Management Secretary Satyabrata Sahu wrote in a letter to the Director-General of Police.
The top revenue official, seeking deployment of dedicated police force at key locations to prevent the attack on government officials, said “though one section of armed police reserve (APR) were deployed at each of the 10 identified locations such as Cuttack Sadar, Barang, Jaleswar, Anandapur, Chhatrapur, Bhanjanagar, Dharmasala, Tangi, Ranapur, and Jharsuguda, they were not being made available for enforcement exclusively.
Subsequently, deployment of forces had been sought at Nilgiri, Khordha, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, and Cuttack for beefing up enforcement activities for curbing theft of minor minerals.
The Tahasildar, Jatni, and the enforcement team were recently brutally attacked by stone mafias when they ventured raid in the night to prevent theft of stone. The mafias have reportedly escaped with the seized vehicle and other equipment, he said.
“Unless stern action is taken against such mafias, the officers engaged in the field to prevent illegal mining will be demoralised. Necessary instructions may be given to concerned police authorities for prompt action in nabbing the culprits and expediting investigation to a positive conclusion”, he wrote, stating that police assistance is essential for effective enforcement activities to arrest theft of minor minerals.
“Illegal mining or theft of minor minerals is one of the major challenges in the state’s minor mineral administration today. It is endemic both to environmental security and the state’s revenue interest.
The Government is committed to curbing such illegal activities. Enforcement activities are being taken up by field-level revenue officers and squads in a planned and regular manner to arrest such menace”, Revenue Secretary Sahu maintained.