Hindustan Times: Prabhijit Singh, Chandigadh : Saturday, January 30, 2016.
“This quarry is defined in total violation of the norms set by the soil conservation, drainage and public works departments,” said Col Balbir. “If tomorrow, our fields cave in and the passages are flooded, then who will be responsible?” he asked. A soil conservation report had even warned against any mining activity on this land, while the drainage department had warned of floods, he added.
Senior mining wing officials, including the state geologist and the Ludhiana industries general manager, had even submitted in the high court that the earlier mining contract at the site in question as awarded to the Punjab State Industries Exports Corporation (PSIEC) was withdrawn.
While the case went in favour of the villager-petitioners on November 17, 2015, the same authorities auctioned the land on November 30, 2015, revealed the documents procured under the RTI Act and in possession of HT.
When contacted, industries g eneral mana g er Mahesh Kumar Khanna admitted that the said area was an officially auctioned quarry. He, however, maintained that certain ‘khasra’ numbers (pieces of land) that could endanger the adjoining fields had been deleted from the quarry area.
When asked why he did not inform the high court that the industries department was still planning a quarry as the petitioners were against it, he said the court never asked the department about it. “We informed the court that the award for quarrying (in Powat) was withdrawn from the PSIEC,” he said.
‘Not in loop’
It was in June 2013 that the site appraisal committee headed by then subdivisional magistrate Ghanshyam Thori gave its nod for an official quarry in this ecologically fragile area. The local villagers, including one of the petitioners Col Balbir Singh, told HT that the committee had not consulted them while identifying the area.
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