Deputy Commissioner Samba, Abhishek Sharma chaired a meeting of the multiple departmental Task Force tasked to check illegal mining. He issued a series of instructions to the officers to check illegal mining. At the outset, the Member Secretary (DMO) informed the chair about the achievements, bottlenecks, grey areas with regard to checking the illegal mining in the district.
The DC Samba directed the taskforce to seek weekly reports from tehsil level committees regarding the illegal mining, alongwith action and recommendations to the district level committee so that appropriate action can be taken against the defaulters. The Tehsil Level Committees comprise of Tehsildar, SHO, AEE, Forest Range officer.
The DC asked for conducting weekly inspection of mining belts, hotspots, crushers, mineral dealer license holders, brick kilns to find out the defaulters and initiation of action to curb the menace of illegal mining. The committee members were asked to establish joint nakas, conduct inspections and activate village level committees to inform the Administration about any illegal activity in the concerned area.
Emphasis was laid on ensuring supply of minor minerals for the ongoing projects in a transparent and legal manner so that the goal of sustainable development is achieved along with maximum generation of revenue. The DC emphasized on the public participation in the protection and conservation of natural environment with judicious use of natural resources.
Furthermore, DC underscored on strengthening the check nakas, conducting joint raids, joint verifications and following zero tolerance policy against illegal mining. It was informed that the enforcement teams penalized 895 vehicles in last two years in the district recovering a penalty of Rs 1.45 Crores.
Among others present in the meeting were Additional SP, Surinder Choudhary, DMO, Mohammad Sayeed, XEN Floof control, SDM Ramgarh, Sunaina ACR, Dr Kusum Chib, DFO and other district and Sectoral officers.