Major negligence of the Mining Department in Jalore has been exposed. ME Narendra Khatik is accused of ignoring more than 40 complaints in a year, causing a revenue loss of more than 10 crores to the government.
According to sources, more than 40 complaints regarding illegal mining and royalty discrepancies were filed at ME Narendra Khatik's office over the last year.
These complaints mentioned irregularities occurring in the areas of Raniwara, Dungri of Sanchore, and Kuaber and Kolar of Jalore.
Not only were the complaints from the public ignored, but investigation directives from higher levels of the department were also disregarded. The lack of timely action emboldened those involved in illegal mining.
When a departmental inquiry was initiated after the matter gained momentum, startling facts came to light. Large-scale illegal mining was discovered at two mines in the Kuaber area.
The investigation team found that mining had been conducted far beyond the lease boundaries at both mines.
Taking action on this major discrepancy, the department has prepared panchnamas (penalty reports).
Additionally, more than 10 complaints were received about royalty collection through handwritten slips in Kuaber, on which no action was taken.
The role of the royalty contract firm 'Sartaj' is also considered suspicious at the center of all these irregularities. According to an estimate, these discrepancies over the past year have caused a revenue loss of more than Rs 10 crore to the government treasury.
The biggest question is why no concrete action was taken against the contract firm in a timely manner when complaints were continuously pouring in and revenue was being lost. This raises suspicions of collusion between officials and the contract firm.
The department also conducted a three-day investigation campaign in the Dungri area of Sanchore, for which Foreman Suman Meghwal from Sirohi was appointed.
During the investigation, 5 handwritten slips and tokens being used instead of e-ravannas were recovered.
The investigation report has recommended a detailed probe of all e-ravannas issued in the last two years, deeming them suspicious. This could potentially expose a major racket.
The investigation also revealed that vehicles were being loaded with minerals beyond their capacity, but the weight was under-reported in the challans to evade royalty. However, it also emerged that the full royalty amount was being collected from the vehicle drivers.
After the panchnamas worth crores in Kuaber and the two-year record in Dungri being declared suspicious, serious questions are being raised about the role of the responsible officials and the contract firm. The question is, when complaints were coming in for a whole year, who were they waiting for to take action?
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