Undoing menace: District admin swings into action against illegal mining

Inquiry committee to submit report to K-P govt, to take legal action against mine owner and contractors.

ABBOTABAD:

The district administration has taken strict notice of complaints about unchecked illegal mining in different areas of Abbottabad and has constituted an inquiry committee to probe the matter.

District Coordination Officer Syed Imtiaz Hussain has constituted the inquiry committee which comprises officials of the mineral, revenue and police departments, officials of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Mines and Minerals department told The Express Tribune on Wednesday.

They said that Assistant Coordination Officer (ACO) Usama Ahmed Wariach will head the committee, which will gather information about the total number of mines operating in the district and identify those being run without permission from the K-P mineral department.

The committee will compile a report and send it to the K-P government and will take legal action against the owners and contractors of illegal mines on the government’s recommendations, the officials added.

Several dozens of mines have been developed illegally across Abbottabad and hundreds of tons of minerals have been excavated and exported to other districts, officials said. The smuggled minerals include phosphate, limestone, granite, gypsum, marble and dolomite, they added.

Officials said that smugglers earn millions of rupees from the business and do not pay taxes. They alleged that the smugglers have backing of politicians and officials of the police and mines department.

“People running illegal mines are not only inflicting heavy losses to the government exchequer but are also exposing mine workers to safety hazards,” said one official, requesting to remain anonymous.

During January, 11 mine workers were killed when an illegal mine collapsed in Batkinala Tarnawai area. Police registered criminal cases against the relevant officials of the mineral department on court orders.

According to an estimate, over 20 mining-related deaths have been reported from across Hazara Division during this year alone.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 1^st, 2012.