Centre asks Maharashtra to curb illegal mining

The number of cases are quite high compared to minerals rich Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and neighboring Gujarat

At a meeting of the coordination-cum-empowered committee on mineral development and regulation held in January, the Centre had expressed serious concerns over the high number of illegal mining cases and on the quality of reports submitted by the Maharashtra government in this regard.

At the same meeting, the minutes of which were released by the Department of Mines on February 7, the Centre also emphasised the need for a consensual understanding on the issue of illegal mining by Maharashtra and other states including Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

According to the compilation by the department of mines, 34,265 cases of illegal mining were reported in Maharashtra in 2010-11, 40,642 in 2011-12, 42,918 in  2012-13 and 7,248 in 2013-14 (up to June 2013).  

During the same period, not a single First Information Report (FIR) or court case were lodged, though the state machinery had seized 108,992 vehicles and realised fines worth Rs 138.51 crore. The number of cases are high compared to mineral-rich Jharkhand, and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat.

A senior government official told Business Standard: “It is true the Centre has emphasised the need for the state to make more efforts to control illegal mining and effectively detect these cases in a time-bound manner. Besides, the Centre has asked to remove the difference and disparity in the report given in this regard.”  The official said the Centre admitted to the government’s argument that the relatively high numbers reported in Maharashtra were possibly attributable to illegal mining of sand due to the difficulty in obtaining statutory permissions.

The official said the Centre had asked Maharashtra and other states to strengthen the machinery by augmenting manpower with the allocation of adequate budgetary resources and by lifting curbs imposed on the creation of additional posts.

“The department of mines gave the example of Gujarat where the government has employed staff on contractual basis. Besides, the department  emphasised that  Maharashtra and other states with rich mineral deposits should understand that illegal mining results in loss of revenue and other realisations,” the official noted.