A team of administrative officers have seized five vehicles caught lifting minerals collected illegally from the riverbeds under two different Tehsils in Dehradun district on Tuesday.
Acting on the Uttarakhand Governor KK Paul’s direction, Dehradun district magistrate Ravinath Raman had instructed sub-divisional magistrates (SDMs) to conduct special drives against illegal mining activities in riverbeds under their jurisdictional limits.
Additional DM Pratap Shah said that four tractors had been impounded from Vikasnagar Tehsil when they were caught lifting minerals collected illegally from the riverbeds. As the area comes under forest department the forest department officers will impose penalties on the violators, Shah informed.
In Doiwala area, one truck was seized when it was caught indulging in lifting minerals illegally. A penalty of Rs one lakh was slapped on the violators, Shah added. Shah further said that such drives would continue in various riverbeds across the district to stamp out the menace.