To end illegal mining, Madhya Pradesh plans to make it legal in parts of Chambal sanctuary | India News,The Indian Express
In a December 2021 proposal submitted to the MoEF-CC, the state said opening up the five stretches would minimise the conflict with illegal miners, gain local support, and fetch revenue from royalty.
To free its forest department from devoting too much time, resources, and efforts in fighting illegal mining in the National Chambal Sanctuary, the Madhya Pradesh government has proposed to open 292 hectares for mining in five stretches on Chambal and its tributary Parvati rivers. Sand mining has been banned in the sanctuary since 2006.
In a December 2021 proposal submitted to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEF-CC), the state said opening up the five stretches would minimise the conflict with illegal miners, gain local support, and fetch revenue from royalty, one-fourth of which could be used to strengthen protection measures.
Additionally, the proposal sought to make the contractors of the soon-to-be legal quarries responsible for checking illegal mining on adjacent sanctuary land four times their leased areas, failing which their leases would be terminated. Denotifying 292 hectares for mining would bring 1,168 hectares under the miners’ protection.
The Madhya Pradesh forest department, records show, started working on the proposal on July 13, 2021, a day before transferring the then superintendent of NCS who made headlines for seizing 78 vehicles engaged in illegal quarrying and facing multiple attacks allegedly from the mining mafia during her three-month stint.
Records show the denotification proposal was moved through the office of Shashi Malik, then Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Gwalior). Asked if the move was necessitated by the escalated conflict with the mining mafia, Malik said: “Neither did I ask for the proposal nor did I make any observation on it. I cannot comment further.”
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