Page 2 - Illegal Mining

ED files police complaint against ex-Haryana MLA, others for illegal mining

The Enforcement Directorate has filed an FIR with the police against former Haryana MLA Dilbag Singh and a dozen others allegedly associated with him on charges of illegal mining and "diverting" the flow of the River Yamuna. The federal agency had raided the former Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) legislator from Yamunanagar assembly seat, Congress MLA from Sonipat Surender Panwar and their linked entities earlier this month in an alleged illegal mining linked money laundering case. It had arrested Dilbag Singh and his associate Kulwinder Singh after raiding about 20 premises of the two politicians and their linked persons in Yamunanagar, Sonipat, Mohali, Faridabad, Chandigarh, and Karnal. These searches were based on a case, registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), that took cognisance of multiple FIRs of the Haryana Police regarding illegal mining of boulders, gravel and sand that took place in the past in Yamunanagar and nearby districts even after the lease

ED raids Haryana Cong MLA, ex-INLD legislator in illegal mining case probe

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday raided locations of Haryana Congress MLA Surender Panwar, former INLD legislator Dilbag Singh and some others as part of a money laundering case linked to alleged illegal mining in Yamuna Nagar district of the state, official sources said. As many as 20 locations of the two politicians and linked entities in Yamuna Nagar, Sonipat, Mohali, Faridabad, Chandigarh, and Karnal are being searched under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said. The money laundering case stems from several FIRs of the Haryana Police registered to probe alleged illegal mining that took place in Yamuna Nagar and nearby districts in the past.

Landslide in Zambia kills 7 miners digging illegal tunnels, 20 missing

Seven miners were confirmed dead and more than 20 others were missing and presumed dead after heavy rains caused landslides that buried them inside tunnels they had been digging illegally at a copper mine in Zambia, police and local authorities said Saturday. No bodies had yet been retrieved after the landslides late on Thursday night, police said. Many of the victims were believed to have drowned. The miners were digging for copper ore at the Seseli open-pit mine in the copper-belt city of Chingola, around 400 km (250 miles) north of the capital, Lusaka, according to police. The landslides happened some time between 9 pm and 10 pm on Thursday, police said. Police gave names or partial names of seven confirmed victims and said all of the miners in the tunnels are suspected to have died. Neither police nor government officials could say exactly how many miners were trapped in the tunnels, but Chingola District Commissioner Raphael Chumupi told The Associated Press that there were at

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

Illegal bauxite mining in Jharkhand: NGT forms panel, seeks report

The National Green Tribunal has formed a panel and asked it to submit a factual and action-taken report on the alleged illegal mining of bauxite in Jharkhand's Lohardaga. The NGT was hearing a petition which was registered following a media report on illegal bauxite mining in Lohardaga. Lohardaga is also known as the 'Bauxite Town' of the country. A bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava referred to the news report on large-scale, rampant illegal mining of bauxite, which was clandestinely transported in trucks having forged number plates. The bench also comprising judicial member Justice Sudhir Agarwal and expert member A Senthil Vel, in a recent order, said, The news item reveals that a substantial issue relating to compliance of environmental laws is involved. We deem it proper to form a joint committee comprising of the representatives of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Member Secretary, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), ..

Over 12,500 challans issued against illegal mining in Himachal Pradesh

Intensifying action against illegal mining in Himachal Pradesh, the police issued over 12,500 challans during the past 21 months and collected a fine of Rs 8.19 crore in 10,891 cases, an official statement said on Wednesday. The remaining 1,680 have been sent to the court and 77 criminal cases of illegal mining have been registered, DGP Sanjay Kundu said in the statement. According to the statement, 12,571 challans were issued from January 1, 2022 to September 20, 2023. The police also impounded 1,539 vehicles involved in illegal mining and sent seven cases involving property worth Rs 11 crore to the Enforcement Directorate for necessary action, it said. In 2022, 6,686 challans were issued and 5,998 cases were settled. In 2023, from January 1 till September 20, 5,885 challans were issued and 4,893 challans were settled, the statement said. Similarly, the fine imposed in the compounded cases in 2022 was Rs 3.61 crore and Rs 4.58 crore in 2023, it said. The DGP said the increase in

NGT to probe allegations of illegal mining by Brij Bhushan in UP's Gonda

The bench said that "in view of the averments made in the application, we consider it appropriate that a Joint Committee be constituted to verify the factual position and take appropriate action

Haryana planning to erect pillars in Aravalis to prevent illegal mining

The government officials said that when intercepted, these illegal miners pretend that they did not realise entering Haryana and that they have the required permit to quarry stones in Rajasthan

3 dead, many feared trapped in illegal coal mine collapse in Dhanbad

The coal mine collapsed at 10:30 am when local villagers were engaged in mining; the exact number of people killed or trapped is still unknown, says DSP Abhishek Kuma

Illegal mining in Aravallis behind increased sandstorms in Rajasthan: Study

The disappearance of the hills in the Aravalli range as a result of illegal mining, land encroachment and urbanisation has led to an increase in sandstorms in Rajasthan, according to a study by the Central University Rajasthan. The study, done by Professor Sharma and PhD scholar Alok Raj, was titled Assessment of land-use dynamics of the Aravalli range (India) using integrated geospatial and CART approach. It was recently published in the international journal Earth Science Informatics'. "The disappearance of hills is one of the reasons behind rising sandstorms. Evidence suggests that places which saw the vanishing hills, like Bharatpur, Dholpur, Jaipur, and Chittorgarh, have been facing more sandstorms than usual," said LK Sharma, professor and HOD Environmental Science at CURAJ. In April and May this year, several of these areas were swept by sandstorms and rain, which even claimed several lives. According to the report, at least 31 hills in the upper Aravalli range ...

Himachal government constitutes task force to curb illegal mining

Ramping up efforts to check illegal mining in Himachal Pradesh, the state government has set up a task force that will review actions taken by various departments in this regard. The state government is trying to increase revenue through scientific mining but at the same time it is also serious about curbing illegal mining, a statement issued here said on Monday. 'Flying Squads' have been deployed at different places to curb illegal mining in border areas and the mining staff is conducting raids in industrial belts such as Baddi, Brotiwala and Nalagarh during odd hours to check illegal mining in these, a spokesperson of the state government said. Mining Departmental officials are dismantling illegal roads carved out by the mining mafia at the inter-state borders to check illegal mining. The department has also initiated the process to identify private land being used for the extraction of illegal minerals by the locals in the Baddi, Barotiwala and Nalagarh Development Authority ...

Illegal mining at Aravalli: 582 complaints but one conviction in 6 years

Haryana police makes submission before National Green Tribunal about its investigation

Woman officer in Bihar abused, dragged by crowd; NCW takes cognisance

NCW Chairperson Rekha Sharma has written to the Director General of Police, Bihar, asking him to personally look into the matter and ensure a fair and timely investigation

Drones can play significant role in checking illegal mining: Union Minister

Drone technology can play a significant role to check illegal mining in the country and can also used to save natural resources, Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur said on Tuesday. The Minister for Information and Broadcasting at an event here said the Centre continues to invest in training the youth in drone technology as India is on track to become a global 'drone hub' of the world. "Mining and illegal mining are two different things. To keep a check on the illegal mining, drone technology could be used. Drone technology could be a big thing to save our resources." he said. He was making those comments at the inauguration of first drone skilling and training conference organised by Garuda Aerospace at the Agni College of Technology, Thalambur near here. Thakur recalled that drones were used during the COVID-19 pandemic to deliver medicines and vaccines. Recently, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation allowed the Board of Control for Cricket

Campaign against illegal mining: 164 people arrested in Rajasthan

More than 160 people have been arrested and 339 FIRs lodged under an ongoing campaign against illegal mining in Rajasthan, officials said on Wednesday.

Govt releases Natural Resource Accounting to track mineral, energy deposits

The asset accounts would help identify alternate economic and energy-based resources, and aid in developing an ecosystem for containing illegal mining

Seized over Rs 36-cr illegal mining cash in Jharkhand in last 2 months: ED

The latest seizure pertains to an investigation against Pankaj Mishra, the political representative of Jharkhand CM Soren, and others where the federal probe agency said it has frozen Rs 11.88 cr cash

Punjab CM announces Rs 25,000 cash reward for reporting illegal sand mining

Channi also emphasised on increasing the number of mining sites and restarting the sites which were earlier closed

Punjab: Amarinder announces setting up of ED to crackdown on illegal mining

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday announced the constitution of an Enforcement Directorate to "completely eliminate the scourge of illegal mining" from the state.

Illegal quarrying or mining will not be allowed in the state: Karnataka CM

The comments came after the explosion at a stone quarry near Shivamogga which led to loss of lives