Govt official suspended in J-K’s Kathua; deputy CM warns underperforming officials

Jammu, Dec 4: A government official was suspended in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua on Wednesday for his alleged failure to stop illegal mining, as Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary inspected various offices in the district and warned stern action against underperforming officials.

District Mineral Officer, Kathua, Naveen Kumar was placed under suspension, pending an inquiry into his conduct, with immediate effect, an official order said.

During the period of suspension, Kumar will remain attached to the Directorate of Geology and Mining, J&K, it said.

District Mineral Officer, Jammu, Varinder Singh will look after the routine work of Kathua mineral office in addition to his own duties till further orders, the order said.

Talking to reporters during his surprise inspection of various government offices in Kathua, Deputy CM Choudhary said the official was suspended for his "failure" to stop illegal mining in the district bordering Punjab.

“We will not allow people from Punjab to come and loot our rivers. There is a lot of corruption in the collection of minor minerals from the rivers. An inquiry will be done and if the allegations are proved against the official, he will face dismissal,” he said.

The deputy CM said the people of J&K voted the National Conference government to power and that “we are not accountable to the officers but the people”.

“We are in power to end the bureaucratic rule and to clear the rust which has gathered in the system over the past six years. We assure the people that they will not find the government lacking and will feel proud that they have chosen a government which is working for them,” he said.

Choudhary also expressed his dismay over the shrinking of the agricultural land and said his government will never want fertile land to be put in the Change of Land Use (CLU) for setting up industries.