PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Bharadisain
The members of opposition Congress tried to corner the State government during the question hour on the issue of illegal mining on the fifth day of Vidhan Sabha at Bharadisain on Friday. The agitated members of the party also staged a walkout from the house to register their protest on what they alleged government sponsored illegal mining in the State.
Responding to a question by the Jhabreda MLA Virendra Jati, the Parliamentary Affairs minister Subodh Uniyal said that the State government collected a revenue of Rs 472.32 crore from mining in 2022-23. Similarly, revenue of Rs 645.46 crore was collected in 2023-24 which increased to Rs 1,040 crore in the year 2024-25. He said that a total of 208 mining leases on an area of 4,368.376 hectares are approved in the State. The minister further informed that the State government has taken many decisions to prevent illegal mining in the State. He said that the department has taken action on 2,252 cases of illegal mining and has collected Rs 82.12 crore as penalty in these cases.
Congress MLA Qazi Nizamuddin said that use of heavy mechanical excavators is being made in the mining leases which is against the rules. The Congress MLA Jati alleged that large scale illegal mining has created big ditches on the river beds which have become a cause of accidents.
The minister told the house that mining up to three meters is allowed in the mining leases. He said that use of modern technology such as drones and e-pass system is being used to prevent illegal mining in the State.
Chakrata MLA Pritam Singh said that the former chief minister and Hardiwar MP Trivendra Singh Rawat has raised the issue of illegal mining in the Lok Sabha. Similarly BJP MLA, Arvind Pandey has also raised the issue publically. Singh said that it indicates that large scale illegal mining is prevalent in the State under the patronage of the government.
