Suhail Bhat
Srinagar, Sept 18: Despite a mining ban, hundreds of tippers are seen ferrying the stones illegally from the Pantha Chowk area at the dead of night, with officials claiming that only vehicles with proper permission for carrying the material for Government works are allowed.
The Government recently issued an order allowing quarry owners of Pantha Chowk to lift sliding material and supply it only for Government works. However, some quarry owners have resorted to illegal ferrying of material to various parts of the Valley.
The Geology and Mining Department is a mute spectator while these truckers don’t pay royalty and other taxes leading a huge loss to the public exchequer. Locals said that hundreds of tippers line up in the evenings in the area to ferry the stones to various parts of the Valley illegally, while officials turn a blind eye.
“At least 700 tippers transport the material to various parts of the city every day, all right under the administration’s nose. The Government should either open mining operations here or put a stop to illegal material ferrying,” a local said, adding that all of this is happening with the connivance of officials.
While refuting the claims, Mohsin Noor, the District Mineral Officer of Srinagar, told Excelsior that mining in the area is still prohibited, but the Government has allowed lifting of sliding material from quarry pits for government works. “There is no active mining anywhere. The material is being lifted and ferried from those queries for which permission has been granted by the Government,” he explained.
However, Muneeb Ahmad, the area’s Mineral Supervisor, told Excelsior that they seized some vehicles last week for illegally ferrying the material, and that “our duty ends around 8 pm and we are unaware of any development after that. But, not a single such vehicle was spotted yesterday until we left at around 8:30 pm,” he said, adding because the department lacks a night shift system, it is up to the police to prevent illegal transportation of material during night.
The quarry owners told Excelsior that the Government’s inaction on the rehabilitation of the area’s quarry owners has forced them to resort to illegal practices. “What will our families eat as this is our only source of income? Recently, the Government permitted mining in the Pantha Chowk area and Al-Fateh areas, but then prohibited it for unknown reasons. However, the ban in the Athwajan area has not been lifted since 2016,” a quarry owner said.
He said that five years after the ban, the Government has failed to rehabilitate the quarry owners, pushing a large portion of the population into poverty. The government halted quarrying in 2016 due to safety and environmental concerns, but the promised alternate site at Aripora in the Zewan area on the city outskirts has yet to be handed over to the affected quarry owners, leaving them in a quagmire of uncertainty.
“The government has violated Supreme Court orders by failing to rehabilitate quarry owners in the Aripora area,” he said, adding that it has also significantly increased the cost of construction materials and harmed the economy.
Joint Director Geology and Mining Kashmir, Nissar Ahmad, told Excelsior that mining remains prohibited because the government is yet to make a decision on the proposal to allow controlled mining in the area. “The proposal to allow controlled mining in a scientific way is under consideration by the government, but a decision has not yet been made,” he said.
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