M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, Feb 4: Dhajawa Pahar Bachao Sangharsh Samiti is waging a relentless war to save the Pahar from being mined by an influential individual there at Barwahi Tola under the Kutmu panchayat of the Pandu police station, according to prominent campaigner Yugal Kishore Pal. He is a former top-ranking extremist and now a civil society activist.
“Villagers have been squatting in the vicinity of the pahar over the last 78 days and counting,” said Pal. “A batch of twenty people is also on relay fast,” he added.
Another important campaigner of this Pahar Shatrughan Kumar Shatru said the Dhajawa Pahar is no ordinary Pahar. It has a great religious significance. Here, the dhwaj of Lord Hanuman flies high for many decades.
Now an influential individual named Suraj Kumar makes a claim for mining of the Pahar which is now being resisted by the villagers, Shatru said.
According to Anup Agrawal, advocate at Jharkhand High Court, the issue of Dhajawa Pahar has reached the eastern zone bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) Kolkata.
He said the eastern zone bench of the NGT Kolkata held its first hearing on February 3 and decided to issue notices to the chief secretary, secretary forest environment and climate change, secretary mines, director mines and geology, DC Palamu, SDO sadar, circle officer Pandu and others to file an affidavit on the present status of the Dhajawa Pahar within two weeks.
The advocate further said the NGT bench has directed the DC Palamu to ensure no mining of the Pahar takes place till the issue is disposed of in the NGT.
The DC has been further directed to inspect the site of the Pahar in question for the alleged illegal mining. The plot no. 1048 where this illegal mining has been done is spread over in little over 5 acres.
The eastern zone bench of the NGT has fixed March 11 for the next hearing.
DC Shashi Ranjan on being contacted said he too has learnt of the notice of the NGT but it has not been brought to his notice.
He added that he has directed the district mines officer to look into it and apprise him of the development.
Activist Yugal Kishore Pal said wrongful and illegal mining was being done by Suraj Kumar on plot number 1048.
He said it is a violation of the terms and condition of the lease as it was granted for the plot number 1046. It is a great travesty of the lease that mining was done on plot number 1048.
Advocate Anup Agrawal said plot number 1046 is under the khata number 174 and it is a leased one. Plot number 1048 is under the khata number 206 which is not a leased one for any mining as per the votaries out to save this Pahar.
The advocate further said the illegal mining has destroyed the ecological beauty, existence and flora of the Pahar and hastened its imminent degradation.
“We have prayed to the NGT bench to intervene and stop forthwith illegal mining, compensation for the damages done to the Pahar, restoration of all loss of environmental habitat, levelling of Pahar so as to keep the entity intact,” advocate Agarwal said.
“We have prayed for the invocation of sections 21,54, 37 under the Jharkhand mines and minerals prevention of illegal mining and anti-pollution act,” he added.
Sources said there is one lacuna. The villagers who cry foul over the mining being done on plot number 1048 have not been mutated in names of the raiyyats and this lacuna is being exploited by the man who does mining here.
Following the ongoing sit-in around the Dhajawa Pahar for 78 days, there is no report of any mining there, Shatru said.
SDO sadar Rajesh Kumar Sah said he is keeping close monitoring on this Pahar.
“The CO Pandu has been repeatedly directed to carry out the ‘seemankan’ (demarcation) of the two plots 1046 and 1048 but he is yet to act,” said the SDO sadar.
“The CO Pandu will have to face music for his lackadaisical attitude,” warned the SDO sadar.
