SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Sept 8: Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL), a subsidiary of Coal India Limited (CIL), is installing 1300 CCTV cameras at key points to check the illegal mining.
A senior officer of BCCL, giving this information at a crucial meeting of the District Mining Task Force (DMTF), said that besides it, quick response teams (QRT), boom barriers, dash-cam in transport, geo-fencing of coal transporting routes and JPS systems are being equipped in vehicles to check the illegal mining.
Deputy Commissioner (DC) cum chairman of DMTF Barun Ranjan while presiding over the meeting said that until the persons involved in the illegal mining are arrested it can’t be controlled completely.
Illegal mining and subsidence incidents in Dhanbad have become a major issue. Even the then Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bais who had visited Dhanbad on January 20, 2023, called upon the officers of the district administration and authorities of BCCL to check illegal mining in the interest of people’s life and the safety of the national property.
The DC has underlined checking illegal mining as first priority and regularly holds meetings of DMTF.
The DC directed the coal officers to identify vulnerable illegal mining spots, coal storage places and transport routes, and keep close vigilance on it. He also directed them to fill up the illegal mining entrance to keep monitoring the place regularly.
He also suggested a joint training session for CISF and police personnel. The DC also asked Circle Officer (CO), police and BCCL officials to monitor the meeting monthly about progress in checking the illegal mining.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sanjiv Kumar while addressing DMTF asked to file name in the FIR with evidence against the person involved in the illegal mining so that the accused could be arrested. He also suggested that BCCL officers cooperate with police in filing charge sheets against the accused.
Director personnel of BCCL Murli Krishna Ramaiya directed coal officers to implement the directives of DC and work in coordination with district administration officials.
Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Vikash Paliwal, Additional Collector Nand Kishore Gupta, SDM Prem Kumar Tiwary, District Mining Officer Mihir Salkar, DTO Rajesh Kumar Singh, BCCL general manager (security) MS Pandey were also present at the meeting.
