Sir — Illegal mining of sand, stone and minerals is rampant in many parts of our country. The suspension of Durga Shakti Nagpal in Uttar Pradesh, the attempt on Yunus Khan’s life in Himachal Pradesh and the transfer of Ashish Kumar in Tamil Nadu for taking on the mining mafia testify to the true extent of the problem. The mining lobbies thrive on political patronage in lieu of political funding and carry a lot of clout with the powers that be. This is apparent from Tuticorin District Collector Ashish Kumar getting his marching orders within hours of his decision to raid the sites of illegal sand mining quarries.
Unfortunately, civil servants who follow their conscience and perform their duties conscientiously, must be prepared for transfers, demotions, suspensions or penalties. There are many young officers who act to stop illegal activities, undeterred by the consequences. But given their limited powers, they cannot do much to end large-scale illegal mining carried out by the unholy politician-bureaucrat-developer-mafia nexus. Given their narrow support base, the environmental pressure groups are fighting a losing
battle, despite their commitment to environmental protection. A mass movement alone would be able to mount pressure on Governments to do away with fuelling economic growth at any cost and go for environmentally sustainable economic growth.