1500 locals granted permits for material extraction: Govt

Srinagar, Oct 31: The Jammu and Kashmir government said that over 1500 local residents have been granted permits for the extraction of sand, silt, and clay to safeguard their livelihood rights.

However, legislator Javed Beigh took a strong swipe at what he termed a “pro-contractor” policy, accusing the government of allowing the plunder of natural resources while depriving locals of access to their own land and streams.

Participating in the Assembly discussion on Thursday, Beigh made an impassioned speech filled with idioms and poetry, lamenting that the new mining policy had stripped people of their traditional rights. “After the New Mining Policy of 2019, people have lost the right to even take a tub of sand from the stream that flows by their homes. They cannot use the soil from their own plots to build their houses,” he said.

He added that residents living near forests were no longer able to use firewood from nearby trees, pushing them into “poverty and despair.”

In a related response to a question by legislator Saifuddin Bhat, the government said it had amended the J&K Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 2016 to safeguard the livelihood of local residents. The amendment allows for short-term and disposal permits for manual, customary extraction of sand, silt, and clay by local Hanjis, Khanis, and muleteers on payment of applicable royalty and charges.

“Permissions are granted through short-term or disposal permits to locals without the e-auction process and without the requirement of environmental clearance,” the government’s reply stated. It added that these measures were aimed at supporting the lower strata of society and ensuring an uninterrupted supply of construction material for developmental works.

The government informed the House that 1512 such permissions had been issued across nine districts of Kashmir, with Pulwama recording the highest number at 565.

However, Beigh dismissed the assurances, alleging that the policy favoured wealthy contractors at the expense of the poor. “Contractors allotted mineral extraction rights are thriving, while those who lived in harmony with nature for generations are being deprived,” he said.

He urged Forest Minister Javed Ahmed Rana to take corrective steps to ensure that locals are not exploited and that natural resources are protected from overextraction. Beigh also warned that several development projects were being delayed due to a shortage of construction materials. “Block-level works are suffering because it is not possible to arrange material under the existing policy,” he said.

Concluding his address with a metaphor, Beigh remarked, “If crocodiles are allowed to thrive in the waters, the small fish must also be allowed to live,” likening the influential contractors to the powerful predators and the local poor to the struggling small fish.