31 stone crushers in State owned by politicians, bureaucrats: J&K minister

Dr Narinder Singh Raina, a first-time BJP MLA from the RS Pura-Jammu South Assembly segment, on Tuesday brought to light the names of politicians and their close relatives running stone crushers across the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Dr Raina had sought details of crusher units with political and bureaucratic links.

In response, the Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary informed the legislative Assembly that 31 stone crushers in the UT are owned directly or indirectly by politicians and bureaucrats. Choudhary, who also held the charge of the Mining department, also informed the Assembly that 48 stone crushers have been closed or sealed across nine districts of the Union Territory for violations.

The sealing of crusher units was carried out by the District Administrations and the Jammu and Kashmir Pollution Control Committee (JKPCC), and in some cases under orders of the courts, as part of ongoing action against environmental violations and regulatory non-compliance. According to the written statement submitted in the house, these 31 stone crushers are spread across 11 districts, and many of them are currently marked as ‘functional’, with a few categorised as ‘seasonal’.

According to the attached list, while one stone crusher is owned by BJP MP Jugal Kishore, his brother Nand Kishore is the proprietor of another stone crusher. The name of BJP MLA from Jammu district Vikram Randhawa also figures in the list. Senior BJP MLA Sham Lal Sharma’s son, Ankush Sharma, is in partnership with others in four stone crushers.

Among those in the list is Gurdeep Singh Khalsa, BJP president (Poonch district). BJP MLA Pawan Gupta’s brother also figures in the list of stone crusher owners. A brother of Yougal Kr Sharma, a former minister of the Congress, owns four stone crushers. Of the 31 stone crushers, the highest number of eight are in Jammu district, six in Kathua, four in Udhampur, four in Poonch, three in Reasi, and one each in Samba, Rajouri, Kishtwar, Ramban, Ganderbal, and Kupwara. Two stone crushers are in Kashmir. National Conference MLA from Kangan, Mian Mehran Ali, owned a crusher in Ganderbal.

Out of 48 sealed units, the Government stated that Pulwama district accounts for the highest number of units at 28, followed by Poonch with 7 and Reasi with 4 units. Two crusher units each have been sealed in Jammu, Ramban, and Udhampur, while one unit each has been closed in Kishtwar, Rajouri, and Kupwara, taking the total to 48 sealed units. However, the Government clarified that none of these sealed crusher units is presently involved in illegal mining activities, despite being closed.