Excelsior Correspondent
KATHUA, Apr 29: A team led by District Mineral Officer Rajinder Singh Rana from the Geology and Mining Department visited various mining sites in Hiranagar Tehsil today.
During their inspection, the team seized four excavators and six dumpers that were involved in illegal mining at Sukhu Chak Katal, an area outside the allotted mining permits.
The seized vehicles were handed over to a police party led by SI Shubam Mahajan and SI Ram Paul.
According to measurements, M/S Vishwa Samundra Company illegally excavated 50,536 metric tonnes of ordinary earth from areas beyond the allotted mining sites for filling work of an express highway using heavy excavators and dumpers hired from local people.
The company was issued two Short Term Permits (STPs) for lifting ordinary earth at Katal by the mining department. However, the company engaged another agency for lifting soil/ordinary earth from the allotted sites without paying royalty, in violation of rules and norms of the Geology and Mining department.
DMO Rajinder Singh Rana reported that the company also illegally excavated over 20,000 metric tonnes of ordinary earth from allotted mining permits at Sukhu Chak without paying royalty.
The DMO took action under the MM(DR) Act of 1957 and SRO-105 of 2016, where officers are delegated powers for controlling illegal transportation of minerals and illegal mining activities.
SSP Kathua Shivdeep Singh Jamwal closely supervised the overall operation.
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