MANISH GUPTA/VIJAY DEO JHA
Ranchi, Oct 7: Sahibganj District Mining Task Force has demolished 69 stone crushing units in the last 45 days based on the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order regarding non-compliance with mining and environmental norms by stone mining operators.
“There are 133 stone mining leases in Sahibganj district and leases for 10 of them have been cancelled due to violation of mining rules. These are of general average size from 5 to 7 acres that have been closed,” said an official who is in the know of mines.
“Further, 69 stone crushing units in the district have been demolished since the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order of 23 August 2022. These crushers were operating illegally without clearance from various authorities like the pollution department,” he stated.
It may be noted that the district authorities have filed 125 FIRs in 2020 and 2021 based on earlier NGT orders in illegal mining activities. The first NGT order was passed in February 2017 to prohibit illegal mining and non-compliant stone-crushing activities.
The NGT had instructed action against the violators and had constituted a high-level committee. Several orders later, including the formation of a new committee, it was found that large-scale illegal mining was going on in Sahibganj, which continued.
Even the state government ran a special drive during 1-15 June 2022 to stop illegal mining operations and crushing activities.
Later, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) while on a case related to a toll plaza auction in Sahibganj expanded their probe to illegal mining and raided various premises of miners and stone merchants for the first time on 8 July 2022 bringing Sahibganj into the limelight. It went on to arrest Pankaj Mishra, Bachchu Yadav and Prem Prakash.
The ED in the prosecution complaint has stated that as many as 125 FIRs were lodged on several persons on the basis of the NGT orders. The allegations are broadly related to illegal mining, storage and transportation. Of these, the ED examined 50 FIRs where the allegations are of serious nature involving large-scale illegal mining.
These 50 FIRs are lodged at different police stations in the district namely Sahibganj Mufassil (4), Sahibganj Nagar (1), Mirzachauki (8), Tajhari (12), Tinpahad (2), Borio (13), Barharwa (1), Kotalpokhar (2), Rajmahal (2), Ranga (2), Barhet (1) and Radha Nagar (1).
