SAD stages sit-in against 'illegal mining' in Mohali

The opposition SAD on Wednesday slammed the local Congress leaders of Mohali, accusing them of indulging in illegal mining.

Staging a sit-in outside the office of the Deputy Commissioner here, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal said once the SAD-BJP alliance comes to power in the state, stringent action will be taken against officials who are helping Congress leaders in carrying out the alleged illegal mining.

"All sand mining activities occurring in Mohali are illegal as no mines are operational in the district in government records and officers are not taking action against the same," Badal claimed while addressing party workers here.

He said the cost of one truck of sand had doubled from Rs 12,000 per truck earlier to Rs 22,000 per truck, hurting the interests of a common man.

In addition, 'goonda tax' of Rs 5,000 per truck is being levied which is allegedly being facilitated by police officers, he alleged.

He urged people not to pay this tax and oppose the same boldly, saying he would personally come to the spot if needed to stop the practice.

Stating that Congressmen were allegedly "looting" the state exchequer, the SAD president and Ferozepur MP said the Congress government had first claimed that it would realise Rs 1,000 crore from sand mining but had collected only Rs 38 crore as of now.

He said in July 2019 under the new mining policy, the sand mines were auctioned for Rs 309 crore after forming seven clusters.

He said Rs 80 crore was to be collected in each quarter and even though two quarters had passed, "not a single paisa" had been collected from the miners.

Badal claimed that environment clearance had been deliberately not given to the miners and they were allowed to mine sand "illegally" without paying one rupee to the state.

Dera Bassi legislator N K Sharma while speaking on the occasion, said that the illegal mining was rampant in the area and the situation was such that all 'shamlat' land had been dug up in the district.

Shamlat land is the land which does not come under habitation and cultivation and is considered as consolidated land holdings for common use.

"The sand mafia has not even left the Chhatbir Zoo area where excavations have been made up to a depth of sixty feet," Sharma claimed.