68 out of 131 stone crushers in Beas Basin did not have permission: Report

Multi Sector Committee in its interim report has highlighted that 68 out of 131 stone crushers in Beas river in Himachal Pradesh were running without permission, officials said on Friday.

Along with the climatic change, the unscientific and illegal mining along the river beds are responsible for the natural calamity in the state causing huge damage to life and property, the committee, in its interim report submitted to the government said.

The committee was constituted after the disaster wreaked havoc in Himachal during monsoons triggering flash floods and massive landslides claiming 509 lives in rain-related incidents and road accidents, a spokesperson of the state government said.

As per the report, out of 131 stone crushers set up in the Beas river basin, 68 did not have the necessary permission while seven were affected by the floods, few anomalies were found in six and only 50 operators were found to have the valid permits, the spokesperson said.

Due to excessive muck dumping in the Beas river and on its banks, the flash floods caused enormous damage to life and both the public and the private property, the report said.

It also mentioned that the environmental balance of the Beas river basin is under great pressure, which needs to be studied scientifically and has also stressed on suggesting short, medium and long term measures for the operation of stone crushers.

The spokesperson said that depending on the conditions, the committee has recommended granting permission to operate 50 stone crushers which have received necessary permission with certain mandatory guidelines.

These crushers can be operated for 12 hours from 6 am to 6 pm. The committee also recommended installation of CCTV cameras in all the stone crushers which will be monitored by the State Pollution Control Board and Mining Department.

If any illegal mining is found within 500 metre radius of the stone crushers, the local authority should report it in writing, otherwise action should be taken against the owner of the stone crusher.