Nayagarh: Government rule mandates carrying out the measurement of leased mines and updating their status within a period of three months of their auction. However, officials in Nayagarh district often overlook these rules. As a result, illegal mining has been running rampant on hills such as Mayurjhalia and Puania in the Nayagarh district.
After the intervention of the Kolkata bench of the National Green Tribunal, the district administration has taken some action on illegal mining in the Mayurjhalia hills. However, it has failed to curb illegal mining in 45 black granite stone quarries and six laterite stone quarries despite knowing that the state government is losing precious revenue due to illegal mining. The administration has become a silent spectator at a time when it needs to act tough against the errant miners.
Sources said that the district has 45 black granite stone quarries on 45 hills in seven tehsils except Gania. The district administration has auctioned 13 black stone quarries in Ranpur tehsil, 10 in Khandapara tehsil, five in Bhapur and Daspalla tehsils, seven in Nayagarh, two in Nuagaon tehsil and four in Odagaon tehsil while no quarry has been leased out in Gania tehsil.
Similarly, there are two laterite stone quarries in Odagaon tehsil and four in Ranpur tehsil. It is regularly alleged that the lessees are extracting stones beyond their lease area. Moreover, they are extracting stones exceeding their annual target in just one month. All this is happening as the revenue and mining officials do not regularly update the status of the mines. Theft in the mines is only increasing day by day due to the negligence of the officials.
Rampant illegal mining of black granite stone and laterite stone quarries on Mayurjhalia hills is a case at this point. The district administration had given four acre of laterite stone quarry on plot no-1689 in Mayurjhalia mouza on a five-year lease to one Susant Kumar Barad of Champagarh village. The administration had also given transit permit of two-acre of land for extraction and transportation of ordinary earth to one Shashank Agarwal, the director of Agarwal Infrabuild Pvt Ltd on lease. The two leaseholders illegally extracted laterite stones and ordinary earth beyond their lease area and earned crores of rupees while destroying the rural forests in the process. They also lodged RS 25 lakh bribery complaint against the Nayagarh Collector when the administration tried to conduct a verification of mines on the direction of National Green Tribunal (NGT).
Their wrongdoing was caught after the NGT cracked its whip and quashed the Rs 25 lakh bribery charge against the Nayagarh Collector and four other persons. Residents claimed that the NGT order has come as a relief for them and given them the courage to speak against such illegalities.
Locals alleged that similar illegal mining is also rampant in Puannia Hill under Odagaon tehsil. The smugglers have constructed a separate road to smuggle stones from the mines. However, the Oadagaon tehsildar except ordering for a probe has neglected in conducting a verification of the mines.