District administration Rajouri takes stern action against those involved in illegal river bed extraction

Dumped Material and 10 vehicles seized in the month of June till date_

Rajouri, June,23:To keep a check on illegal river bed extraction, the committee headed by the District Mineral Officer and its members including concerned tehsildar, Station House Officer and an officer from Irrigation and Flood Control has seized material dumped by 09 stone crushers and 10 vehicles in the month of June for the violation of the J&K Minor Mineral Concession Storage, Transportation of Minerals, Prevention of Illegal Mining Rules.

It is pertinent to mention here that the said committee was constituted by the Deputy Commissioner Rajouri, Mohammad Nazir Sheikh to curb illegal mining in the district.

While giving details, the District Mineral Officer said that as many as 10 vehicles were seized during the inspection including 02 from Sunderbani,01 Nowshera,03 Chattayari-Kallar and 04 from Muradpur area and material of 09 stone crushers which were seized. The stone crushers include Maa Naina Devi stone crusher,Border s/c,Krishna s/c,KK s/c,Samta s/c,Jai Bharat s/c,Raina s/c,Mehta s/c and Sethi s/c.The DMO has said that during an inspection of the stone crusher units, it was found that they had illegally dumped huge quantities of minor minerals within their premises in violation of the rules 2016.

It is pertinent to mention here that,today police has also seized a pokeland from dandesar river bed and handed over to the DMO for further action.

He said that irresponsible mining practices cause irreparable harm to the environment and the ecology and the need of the hour is to keep a check on illegal river bed extraction. He also made it clear that such inspections shall be conducted on a regular basis and strict action as per rules will be initiated against the violators of the norms.