Ex-CM raising mining issue in Parliament makes BJP govt in Uttarakhand uncomfortable

Dehradun, Mar 29 (PTI) The issue of illegal mining raised in the Lok Sabha by its own MP and former chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has put the BJP government in Uttarakhand in yet another piquant situation after the Premchand Agarwal episode, in which the cabinet minister had to resign after his remarks against the hill people triggered a major controversy.
    Hours after Rawat raised the issue in Parliament on Thursday, Uttarakhand Mining Department Director Brijesh Kumar Sant issued a hurried explanation in a video in response to the allegations.
    The official tried to depict a positive picture, making claims about illegal mining effectively being checked in the state and an unprecedented rise in revenue from mining last year.
    However, Rawat, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Haridwar, raising his voice over illegal mining in Uttarakhand has provided fresh ammunition to the opposition to mount an attack on the ruling party.
    Rawat told Parliament that trucks engaged in illegal mining are being operated at night in Dehradun, Haridwar, Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar districts, and it is becoming a serious threat not only to law and environmental protection but also to the general public.
    Despite clear instructions from the government, the mining mafia is transporting minerals without any valid permission by overloading trucks in large quantities at night, causing heavy damage to roads, bridges and other infrastructure, he said.
    Rawat also said due to the reckless driving and high speed of the trucks, the number of road accidents is increasing continuously.
    He called the situation "dreadful" due to the truck drivers ignoring traffic rules and driving under the influence of alcohol in collusion with the local administration, and asked for effective action. He also urged the central and Uttarakhand governments to form a special task force to stop illegal mining activities in the hill state.
    Sant called the allegations "completely baseless, false and misleading" and said the biggest proof of this is the highest increase in mining revenue so far in the current financial year after the formation of Uttarakhand.
    "This revenue is almost one-and-a-quarter times more than that of the last financial year. This is the first time when the target set for mining revenue was not only achieved but an additional amount of Rs 200 crore was earned. This is an achievement of the mining department," he said.
    This proves that there is effective control on illegal mining in the state, Sant said, adding that there is already a task force at all three levels of tehsil, district and state, which continuously monitors illegal mining.
    On the operation of mining trucks at night, the officer said trucks run at night because heavy vehicles are not allowed to operate in cities during the day. He said tourism is very important in Uttarakhand, especially from the point of view of pilgrimage, so trucks operate at night not to disrupt traffic and to ensure that the possibility of road accidents is minimised.
    Sant also clarified that the finished goods from the stone crusher always come out with valid documents.
    The opposition Congress cornered the state government on the issue, saying Rawat's statement has confirmed its allegations of the mining mafia's reign in Uttarakhand.
    Senior vice president of the state Congress Suryakant Dhasmana said, "Now it has been confirmed that the concerns expressed by the Congress for long about illegal mining in the state are correct." He also demanded a "white paper" from the BJP government on mining.
    However, Uttarakhand BJP media in-charge Manveer Singh Chauhan claimed that the Congress is upset over the unexpected increase in mining revenue. "Due to the transparent policy of the Pushkar Singh Dhami government, the distribution of mining leases among the favourites of the Congress has also stopped and hence, it is making baseless allegations," he said.
    Regarding Rawat's statement in Parliament, Chauhan said the senior leader himself will be able to throw light on his intention behind raising the issue.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)