Facing flak over illegal mining in Haryana following the killing of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Surender Singh who was crushed to death by a dumper driver this morning during a raid in Nuh to check illegal mining, Haryana government, on Tuesday, said stringent steps have been taken from time to time to check illegal mining in the state.

An official spokesperson said the government has constituted a District Level Task Force (DLTF) under the chairmanship of the concerned deputy commissioner. This task force conducts surprise inspections of the affected areas and is fully equipped to take strong action at the ground level, he said.

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The spokesperson said illegal mining does not only mean illegal extraction of banned material but also includes illegal transportation of the said material by vehicles. Due to the raids conducted by DLTF, vehicles carrying illegal mining material are confiscated by the geology department as well as the police.

He said the mining department has recently received 18 police personnel (one inspector, four sub inspectors, four head constables and nine constables) on deputation from the police department, who have been deployed to check illegal mining. Sixty more police personnel will join in the near future.

According to the spokesperson, 138 FIRs have been registered for illegal mining in the year 2022-23. Along with this, a fine of about Rs 1,31,29,158 has been recovered by confiscating 253 vehicles.

In 2022-23 in Nuh, 68 vehicles involved in illegal mining have been seized and 23 FIRs have been registered. A fine of Rs 4,28,400 has been recovered from illegal miners in Nuh. The spokesperson said that it has been decided to use satellite imagery for regular monitoring of mining in the state. Along with this, in future all vehicles carrying mining material from mining contract areas of any mineral will be equipped with GPS.

The spokesperson said that strict directions have been issued by the government to the deputy commissioners and the superintendents of police regarding illegal mining. DCs have been directed to ensure that regular meetings of the DLTF are convened to review the action taken on illegal mining. At the same time, illegal mining should be investigated and sensitive areas prone to illegal mining should be identified and special teams of officers should regularly inspect the sensitive areas, the spokesperson said.