LAGATAR24 NETWORK
Ranchi, Feb 20: A high-level five-member team of the Jharkhand government officials reached Sahibganj on Monday to ascertain whether or not illegal stone mining took place in the district and the environmental impact of the illegal mining.
The team arrived for inspection as the Jharkhand government has to file an affidavit before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in a complaint related to illegal mining filed by one Sahibganj resident and social worker Arshad Nasar in 2017.
The principal bench of the NGT (Delhi) is set to hear the case on February 27 and also directed the state government to file an affidavit in this regard.
The team includes Additional Chief Secretary L Khayangate, the secretary of mines Abu Bakar Siddiqui, Member secretary of Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board, Y.K. Das and advisor Manibhushan and Raj Tigga who is the OSD of mining director.
The team landed around 9.30 AM and visited different mining areas. The additional Chief Secretary heading the team held a meeting with DC Ramniwas Yadav, forest officer Manish Tiwari, mining officer Bibhuti Kumar and other officials.
The team visited several mining sites under Mandro block besides Gadwa hills. Social activist Arshad Nasar raised the issue of illegal mining and its environmental impact. In connection with the hearing, the NGT sent a team of experts to Sahibganj. Experts found the complaint as true and very serious. The NGT team divided the district into 130 zones and each zone covered an area measuring four square km.
In as many as four zones namely one, three, four and seven the condition was found appalling. The NGT passed a 21 pages order in August last year and sought a reply.
The ED is investigating the illegal stone mining scam in Jharkhand which is worth over Rs. 1000 Crore. The ED in the chargesheet has referred to the report of the NGT.
The agency so far has arrested and charge-sheeted Pankaj Mishra who is MLA representative of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren besides powerbroker Prem Prakash and a criminal Bacchu Yadav. The ED has also questioned Chief Minister Hemant Soren and his media advisor Abhishek Prasad alias Pintu.
Even the Narendra Modi government has decided to conduct a survey of illegal mining in Jharkhand and the ministry of environment, forest and climate change will soon start the process.
The decision was taken in the wake of the report submitted by the ED to the secretary of the union ministry Lina Nandan regarding widespread illegal mining in Jharkhand which badly damaged the ecology and the climate.
The ED in the report focused on Sahibganj has maintained that other than the general areas, illegal mining is being done in the forest and other prohibited areas. Illegal mining is being done in the garb of the mining lease and even without the lease. This has caused a huge loss of revenue to the state government and also severely affected the climate.
