Keonjhar: Peeved over rampant illegal mining and smuggling of stones at some of the villages like Nuabaripal, Ostapura and Bhol Nuagaon under Ghasipura tehsil of Keonjhar district, BJP’s Yuva Morcha state coordinator Yagnya Prasad Sahu Wednesday lodged a complaint with the district Collector Vishal Singh seeking stringent action against the errant miners.
Alleging that stones are being smuggled by throwing all rules and regulations to the winds, the BJP leader stated that the area also houses many illegally installed high-powered crushers. Sahu sought the intervention of the Collector as the local administration has been a mute spectator to the daylight plunder of the minerals. The complainant alleged that a firm is extracting and selling about 10 times more than the permissible amount every day from Nuabaripal stone quarry, which, according to government data, is non-functional.
Alleging excessive quarrying at Ostapura and Bhol Nuagaon stone quarries, the complainant said these units are extracting about 15 times more stones than the permissible limits and selling them illegally for the last several years. Such illegal mining and quarrying have caused revenue losses to the tune of around Rs 700 crore to the state government. Buttressing his stand, Sahu said, “Information received through satellite imagery proves the charges of illegal quarry fields,” said Sahu.
Earlier, two lessees of Ostapura mine had sold stones and chips for the construction of National Highways and other government/private projects without valid transit passes. It was alleged that the stones were also used in the stone-packing at Anandapur barrage on Baitarani River.
It is learnt that 90 per cent of the minor minerals used in various development and construction activities in the public and private sectors in the district are being illegally extracted. The quarry mafias in cahoots with some former and incumbent officials are plundering the minerals even as repeated complaints before the higher authorities have yielded no results, the complainant said. He urged the Collector to take strict action against the accused government officials, the lessee and the smugglers after conducting a thorough probe. “Although the previous government was well aware of the illegal mining, it took no action. The Collector has assured us of action within two/three days of receiving the complaint,” Sahu added. Moreover, the illegal excavation has created huge ditches which pose grave threats to humans as well as animals. As per the mineral extraction rules, the voids should be filled with soil to retain the status quo, which has not been done.
