Acting on the Uttarakhand Governor KK Paul’s direction, Dehradun district magistrate Ravinath Raman has instructed sub-divisional magistrates (SDMs) to conduct special drives against illegal mining activities in riverbeds under their jurisdictional limits.
A special drive was conducted in the district on Thursday. Additional DM Pratap Shah said that one tractor was seized in Kalsi Tehsil when it was caught lifting minerals collected illegally from the riverbeds. A penalty of `50,000 was slapped on the violators, he added.
In Rishikesh, a truck was seized and `1 lakh was imposed as penalty on the operator. Shah said that such drive would continue in various riverbeds of the district.