DC Shopian did what the law tells him to do!

The Deputy Commissioner Shopian Mohammad Shahid Saleem, who is also the District Magistrate of the district, with an aim of safeguarding Rambiara river and its tributary Sasara from further destruction, imposed a complete ban on the use of heavy machines like L&T hydraulic excavators, JCBs etc. These heavy machines have been used for the last many years in the district to undertake riverbed mining and successive DCs failed to check it.

The owners of these machines and project proponents involved in the mining were protesting some days back saying it was an unusual thing for them that their work was stopped. Irony is that these so-called project proponents or contractors are not even aware about the kind of work they are supposed to do. These works have been sublet to them by the main contractor who is not even in the picture as of now.

There is so much ignorance about the riverbed mining rules that not even the District Mineral Officers-DMOs, nor Irrigation Flood Control Department or Fisheries Department officials posted in Shopian in past have told mining contractors that use of machines is not allowed as per J&K Minor Mineral Concession Rules 2016 and guidelines of J&K Environmental Impact Assessment Authority especially its Specific Condition No 53. Everyone has acted like an ostrich. Many have taken money from mining lease holders and played a role in destruction of Rambiara river. The future generations will curse them for this environmental destruction.

Specific Condition No 53

When a mining work is e-auctioned by J&K Geology & Mining Department the project proponent is supposed to get an Environmental Clearance (EC) from State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA). The SEIAAs have been set up in every state and UT across India by the Union Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change )MoEF). This work is assigned to Directorate of Environment Ecology and Remote Sensing in J&K which acts as SEIAA with different expert members. There are dozens of specific and standard conditions that have to be adhered to by leaseholder / project proponents.

The Specific Condition No 53 of the environmental clearance (EC) document mandates that Riverbed Mining (RBM) must be conducted manually, with only minimal support from semi-mechanised tools, prioritising employment for the local workforce. It is further mentioned that JCBs, L&T cranes etc., should not be allowed at all. But this order isn’t enforced on the ground, neither by District Mineral Officers (DMOs) nor by District Magistrates / DCs. This author had to seek indulgence of National Green Tribunal (NGT) to stop the use of the heavy machines in Doodh Ganga, Shali Ganga, Sukhnag, Romshi, Sasara and other streams during last 4 years period and successive DCs of Budgam and Pulwama especially failed to even act on my repeated requests.

In Pulwama the work has been controlled after the intervention of Dy CM Surinder Choudhary whom I had alerted through social media, but the illegal work in Sukhnag Budgam continues with RBM worth Rs 20 to 30 lakhs been looted on daily basis without even having the required Environmental Clearance. Interestingly Sukhnag nallah was not even e-auctioned for riverbed mining by Geology & Mining Department. The illegal work is done under the garb of Disposal Permits for which green signal is given by DC’s. But this permit is meant for clearing the muck or bajri that gets collected due to weathering or floods, but its misuse is done massively in J&K. I will write a detailed piece on this soon. I have already taken this up with NGT also, especially with regard to Sukhnag, and a team constituted by them is visiting the site on December 26th, 2024.

Ensuring Livelihood to Labourers

The J&K Minor Mineral Concession Rules 2016 and State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority’s guidelines make sure that local labourers are given work for riverbed mining and the material which is excavated is to be sold at 50 % discount within 2 kms radius. Unfortunately with the use of heavy machines the local labourers are deprived of not only the work but the population is also deprived of riverbed material like sand, gravel, bajri and boulders.

The same are sold to them at exorbitant rates and nobody gives 50% discount to them as mandated under the law. The sand truck / tipper was sold @ Rs 7000 in 2018 -2019 and now the same is sold @ Rs 15000 in Srinagar and adjoining districts like Budgam and Pulwama. If we have so much material available, where does this go? What are DCs or DMOs doing? The legal provisions for streamlining riverbed mining have never been enforced on ground and the recent order issued by DC Shopian looks unusual to us? The reason is that we have been made to get used to illegal practices and non enforcement of legal provisions.

Conclusion 

I appreciate the work that is done by District Magistrate Shopian to curb illegal riverbed mining, which in fact looks extraordinary to us. The action taken by the District Magistrate is not something unusual, but he did what he is supposed to do. I would suggest to the Deputy Commissioners posted in other districts of J&K to follow the footsteps of Mr Shahid Saleem and issue similar orders so that illegal riverbed mining is curbed.

 Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat is Chairman J&K Climate Action Group.