Uttarakhand sets up team to check illegal mining

Mining force would regulate areas like Dehradun, Nainital, and Haridwar

At a time when the government is facing allegations of going soft on the sand mafia, a special vigilance mining force has been constituted in Uttarakhand to check illegal river-bed mining.

The mining force would be headed by Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Sanjay Gunjyal. The headquarters of the new mining force will be in Dehradun, top officials said.

The mining force would regulate the mining activities in sensitive areas like Dehradun, Nainital, Haridwar and Udhamsingh Nagar districts where the sand mafia's activities had been noticed in the recent past.

The officials claimed that Uttarakhand is the first state in the country to have a specialised mining force. However, it was not yet clear whether the vigilance force will have the same policemen who earlier used to patrol the river-bed areas.

On the other hand, the government has set up a sub-committee of the state cabinet to bring private players in the mining business through an open tendering process.

The government is yet to implement its new mining policy which it had brought in March this year. A section of leaders from both the ruling Congress party and the BJP are claiming that the mining mafia will increase its foothold in the sector through privatisation of the mining business which in turn would adversely affect the ecology of the rivers.

However, the government claims that the move is aimed at increasing the revenue and reducing the role of the government agencies in the business. Under the new mining policy which was brought in March, the government said it can earn revenue of Rs 400 crore through tendering process. At present, the government earns only Rs 100-150 crore through the old policy.

Buckling under opposition, the government has set up a five-member sub-committee of the state cabinet to take a decision on the privatisation of the mining/quarrying business which is locally known as "khanan".