843 vehicles with illegal mining material seized in Haryana

Gurugram: In a major crackdown on illegal mining, a special enforcement team of the Haryana police has confiscated 843 vehicles being used in illegal mining activities across 12 districts of the state over the last eight months.

A penalty of Rs 23 crore was imposed on the vehicle owners for transporting illegal mining material. More than 50 cases were registered against them. Drilling machines were also seized. The police confiscated vehicles bearing Haryana registration numbers along with the illegally mined material.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Preet Pal Sangwan was given the charge of the Gurugram and Nuh regions. The ACP along with 25 police officials was tasked with tracking the movement of vehicles illegally transporting mining material from the Aravallis to various construction sites and crusher zones in the region.

"The illegal activity was going on more in the border areas and efforts were afoot to keep tabs on vehicles ferrying mined material or without the requisite documents," Sangwan said.  Of the 843 vehicles confiscated, nearly 241 were seized at Narnaul in Mahendragarh district, 172 in Faridabad, 145 in Gurugram, 67 in Charkhi Dadri, 50 in Mewat, 49 in Rewari, 48 each in Palwal and Bhiwani districts, 10 in Hisar, nine in Jhajjar, three in Sonipat and one in Rohtak.

According to the police, illegal mining is most prevalent in Gurugram, Nuh, Narnaul, Mahendragarh and Faridabad. "A huge demand for quarry material exists in the border areas of Punjab and Haryana where several infrastructure projects are underway. Illegal mining is usually undertaken between late evening hours and early morning. The connivance of field officials of various departments cannot be ruled out," said an official of the mining department preferring anonymity.

Tractor-trolleys bearing no registration numbers engaged in illegal mining activity are often spotted in this industrial belt as they manage to evade police action, he added. "We have increased surveillance in the noted areas where such illegal mining is taking place. Besides, teams of mining and forest departments have also been keeping tab on illegal mining through their sources. We are also taking help from local residents and sources to crack down on the illegal mining nexus," Sangwan said.

According to a National Green Tribunal (NGT) order passed last year, all vehicles that are seized will be released only after recovery of at least 50 per cent of their showroom value. Apart from this, the confiscated vehicle owner will also have to pay a royalty fee, the value of the material loaded on the vehicle along with a Rs 10,000 fine before the vehicle is released.