Srinagar, July 12: Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami on Friday said the mining department’s “high-handedness” has severely impacted rural development projects in Jammu & Kashmir and caused hardship for small and marginalised labourers and contractors involved in the sector.
The projects, which are crucial for the development of rural areas, have been severely hampered due to the administration’s failure to implement a peoples-led and peoples-owned approach to mining, he said in a statement issued here.
Tarigami added, “The Jammu and Kashmir Stone Crushers/Hot & Wet Mixing Plants Regulation Rules 2021, which came into effect in February 2021, has been criticised for being contrary to people’s aspirations. The rules, which were aimed at empowering Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) to raise funds through mining surpluses and address the shortage of key construction materials in the local market, have instead directed stone crushing and hot and wet-mix plant owners to obtain materials from valid concessionaires at the cost of village development.”
He said the Administrative Council (AC), which met in Srinagar on July 18, 2021, approved the amendment of J&K Minor Mineral Concession, Storage, Transportation of Minerals and Prevention of Illegal Mining Rules, 2016. “The amendment aimed to empower PRIs to obtain mining permits up to 1 hectare (20 kanals) till September 30, 2021, and exempt them from payment of advance royalty to the Geology and Mining Department before commencing mining. However, the new rules have not been implemented effectively, causing frustration among small-scale miners and contractors involved in rural development projects,” he said.
The CPI(M) leader urged the administration to give due rights to PRIs in mining and have a lenient view towards people directly involved with rural development projects. “The delay in implementing the rules has resulted in a shortage of construction materials, and led to increased prices and hardship for the general public,” he said.
He urged the government to take immediate action to address this issue and ensure that rural development projects are completed on time.
