M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, May 29: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s clarion call to wage a war against illegal mining has put DCs, SPs, DMOs, and DTOs of mine bearing districts on the live wire.
The Deputy Commissioner’s are to report on illegal mining for just a fortnight from June 1 to 15. They are to brief the press about the outcome of the tirade against illegal mining.
Palamu has varities of mining activities that includes sand, stone, coal, limestone, graphite, and dolomite mining. The sand mafias, tractor drivers, and workers in Palamu, work half the night for a 90 cft (Cubic feet) of illegal sand.
If illegal coal mining is in Latehar,Giridh, Ramgarh, it is mica in Koderma, bauxite in Lohardaga.
Sources said that it is illegal mining of the sand and stone that keeps this district in news more for the wrong reasons. Illegal mining of sand is a major issue gripping rivers in Palamu, from where it is transported to UP. Morrum is also mostly dug out illegally.
Sources said that Palmu DC Shashi Ranjan and SP Chandan Kumar Sinha along with other concerned officials, held a session to chalk out the modalities to contain and curb illegal mining.
A stone mining businessman refusing to be identified said that every cargo carriage vehicle has a prescribed capacity like 10 tonnes, 15 tonnes, depending upon the number of the wheels but these carriages transport overloaded materials as against the permitted capacity.
The district administration is out to curb first the illegal mining and then its shipment, no matter what the load in tonne is. Palamu administration has decided to set up check posts on roads and the national highway that connects with Bihar.
The Palamu administration is planning with the idea of installing CCTV cameras at the check posts too. Sources said that the district mining officer and district transport officer will have less breathing time following this order by the CM Hemant Soren.
