Illegal mining of sand and stones is rampant in several areas of the district leading to losses of several crores to the government. According to statistics available black marketing of stones worth more than 2.5 crores and sand worth more than forty lakh is carried out every day in Gwalior alone.
About 1000 dumpers carrying boulders and 350 trolleys carrying sand reach the city from the mines situated in the surrounding areas. It is learnt that the sand mafia, in connivance with some officers in the revenue department sell it at a premium in the black market without paying any royalty to the government.
On being alerted about this, Gwalior SP Navneet Bhasin formed a team under the Traffic DSP which cracked down on the sand mafia yesterday night and caught 24 dumpers that were transporting illegal boulders and sands. The dumpers have been parked at CP Colony, Morar under the custody of the police. A search is on for the owners of these dumpers who are absconding and have not come forward to claim the material or the dumpers.
When asked why the department had not taken any action against this black marketing, Govind Sharma, the Mining Officer said that the department has been taking action against it but since most of the actions are scattered ones, conducted in different areas they are not being highlighted as the police action gets highlighted.
He added that in the last month alone the department had taken action against forty dumpers and trolleys that were transporting illegal sand and boulders. He also admitted that lots of illegal mining activities are going on in the surrounding areas, making it difficult for the department to effectively curb the unlawful marketing of sand and boulders.