Conditions of EIAA being violated blatantly by lessees
Deep trenches pose threat to Food Craft Institute
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Jan 2: The much-needed round the clock surveillance to curb illegal mining in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has remained confined to the papers only on one or the other pretext while as majority of the lessees are blatantly violating the conditions imposed by the Environment Impact Assessment Authority (EIAA) in the clearance letters.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that while dealing with the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) highlighting illegal mining activities, the Division Bench of the High Court has from time to time issued directions for increasing surveillance to foil such attempts and to ensure that lessees who have been allotted blocks by the Geology and Mining Department restrict their activities to the earmarked area only.
However, the much-needed surveillance has remained confined to the papers only on the pretext that the Geology and Mining Department doesn’t have adequate manpower for round the clock vigil, they said, adding “whenever any whistleblower brings to the notice of the Geology and Mining Department any illegal activity the concerned officials just express their helplessness or pass on direction to the field spot to visit the area to check authenticity of the complaint without seeking any action taken report”.
“Thereafter, the whistleblower doesn’t get any response from the department mainly because whatever illegal activity is taking place on the ground is either because of the connivance of the field staff or due to lack of interest to check the same”, they further said.
The Environment Impact Assessment Authority while granting mining permission puts several conditions like digging up to fixed limit and avoiding of JCBs and other heavy machinery so as to prevent damage to local ecology but these conditions are being violated blatantly by majority of the lessees mainly because of inaction on the part of the Geology and Mining Department, sources informed.
Pointing towards other conditions, they said that District Mineral Officer is required to monitor the replenishment of the mined out areas, traffic management, levels of production, river bank erosion, exit point of the site and instruct the project proponent for initiating measures for mitigating the environmental concerns. Moreover, the project proponent is required to take all precautionary measures during mining operations for conservation and protection of endangered fauna and flora in the area.
“However, these conditions are rarely fulfilled by the project proponents and Geology and Mining Department express inability to check the same on the pretext of acute shortage of manpower”, sources said while disclosing that mining activities near the Food Craft Institute at Nagrota is posing severe threat to the building constructed at a cost of Rs 2.50 crore as the lessee has created deep trenches beyond the permissible limits and activity despite being brought to the notice of the Geology and Mining Department has not been checked.
“The lessee is openly using JCB for the mining activity which otherwise is not permissible to prevent damage to the local ecology and water table”, sources said, adding “it is required to be ascertained as to how the lessee can supply minor minerals to several construction companies from one block allotted to him by the Geology and Mining Department”.
“There are numerous such instances but because of connivance of local police and field staff of the Geology and Mining Department the same remain unchecked”, they further said.
It is pertinent to mention here that in the month of November 2020, the Division Bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Mohd Akram Chowdhary while dealing with the PIL on illegal mining had observed: “The mining from the River Tawi bed has been curtailed to a great extent but with the connivance of the administration, large number of trucks carry out illegal mining without any check from any corner”.
When contacted, Director Geology and Mining Department O P Bhagat said, “we try our level best to act on the complaints like the one about the mining near the Food Craft Institute at Nagrota but for want of adequate staff it is not possible to maintain round the clock surveillance”, adding “one District Mineral Officer is required to look at vast area that too with meager staff at his disposal”
“We are trying to evolve scientific methods to check these activities and hopefully some measures would be taken in next few months”, he added.
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