Haridwar, the holy city, is now under the media glare for wrong reasons — illegal mining — a menace for the holy river Ganga that has been going on in full swing across the district. Kangari, Rasoolpur, Mithiberi, Banjarawala, Bhogpur, Raighati, Daulatpur and Jagjeetpur are the main areas where the mining leases were granted. As per reports, total 101 mining leases were granted officially across Haridwar district by the end of February this year or the current financial year. Sadly, 18 leases are also running parallel to the sanctioned ones in the district due to heavy political support.
Ironically, none of the leases granted in the district is of more than five hectares. Green Tribunal ruling clearly says no mining lease can be granted for areas of less than five hectares. One senior official of the district administration said on condition of anonymity said they are fully aware of the National Green Tribunal guidelines laid down by Ministry of Environment and Forest. He pleaded helplessness to stop things.
The businessmen running mining operation are minting money. But the plight of the labourers remains the same. Sumit (name changed), a 28- years-old labourer, said that he has been getting Rs500 for his hard work going on for 12 hours a day over the past two years. “Besides, we can be arrested anytime when the police raids are on,” he said. Another labourer Monu (name changed) informed that they do not get helmets, safety gloves or gum boots. They have to work during winter nights without woolen protection. Another said the quantity of sand and bajri is extracted in a month which is supposed to be done in a year. “It is good profitable business for the miners,” he said.
According to latest NGT order, sand can be taken out only from the riverbed and not from the riverbank or any other mining site near or in the river. It further said “What is to be prohibited is unregulated, illegal and unsustainable mining activity on the river banks. Removing the collected sand from the riverbed is an established and time- tested practice. However, it should be removed scientifically and to a limited extent.”
The guidelines state that the mining should not be done outside the demarcated area. Quarrying of the mineral should not be done below 1.5 meter depth in the riverbed and no mining should be done near any bridge on the river, at least within 1 km radius. Several violations came into focus during the inspection of the mining areas in Haridwar by the previous district administration. As per the sources, district magistrate Pandian was transferred to facilitate the mining mafia.
The district administration on Monday imposed a ban on mining activities at four more spots on the Ganga riverbed in Haridwar. According to sources, the fresh ban was necessitated due to a contempt petition filed against the district administration in the state’s High Court. Sources added that unless sand mining is stopped on the banks of Ganga its ripple effects could be felt in other districts too in the coming days.