Peddapalli: Illegal brick kilns thriving as officials look other way

Peddapalli: The brick kiln traders are acting at will running the kilns without any permits in the district due to lack of supervision by the authorities.

They are making crores of rupees in making bricks from the pond soil which is supposed to be transported to the fields while the government losing income in lakhs of rupees. The officials who are supposed to restrain the traders are sleeping. If they respond even now, there is a possibility of collecting huge income for both the government and the gram panchayats.

For making and selling bricks, the permission of the concerned village panchayats along with the revenue and mining authorities must be taken. Apart from this, the permission of the pollution control authorities should be obtained and tax must be paid to the government. But the traders in the district do not care. Brick kilns are being built wherever they want.

If there is land suitable for brick making, adequate water and electricity facility, they continue to work even without any permits. They are taking advantage of the innocence of the farmers and turning the crop lands into bogs using pond soil. Even though this is happening, the authorities are acting ignorantly leading to many suspicions.

The traders are transporting soil and sand from belonging to Ramagiri mandal from the cultivated lands of some farmers from Khammam Palli Maneru dam of Muttaram mandal of Pedpadelli district to make brick. Here, the matter of transportation of soil and sand in lorries by preparing road bills in the name of Panchayat Secretary relieved from Khammampelli Gram Panchayat became a topic of discussion.

Bills signed by the secretary were issued on February 2 regarding soil removal but the secretary who was released on February 1 came the next day and signed it. Doubts are being expressed that the business is going on only with the signature of the secretary who has no power to do so.

It has become questionable to see the way bills issued with the signature of the secretary who went on transfer. It is said that this illegal business is being run in the name of local needs in Khammampalli. It seems that digging is going on in Patta lands without the permission of other departments including mining. According to the newly implemented sand policy of the government, opinions are being expressed that there is no possibility of sand being moved in this manner.

It seems that the pattadar has no authority to remove the soil from his land as there are sand dunes in the patta land of Khammam Palli. However, doubts are being expressed about the Panchayat Secretary giving the way bills related to the natural resources that are not being moved from Khammampalli.

It seems that if the revenue authorities and panchayat authorities have given the permissions, they have to be used only for the development works of the government. In Khammampalli, the waybills issued make it clear that permission has been given not to move for the needs of private individuals.

On one hand, the government spending crores of rupees are being spent on growing plants, on the other hand, brick traders are cutting huge trees. Some traders are also importing railway coal and using it for brick kilns by creating fake documents. They are arbitrarily mining the soil suitable for making bricks and evading the royalty due to the government.

To support the farmers, the state government is continuously supplying free electricity to agriculture. It is being used by some brick kiln traders at will. Electricity is being used illegally without permission from the electricity department.

Due to this, the electricity department is losing the income of lakhs of rupees.