Jajpur: Illegal mining of black stones has picked up again under Dharmasala tehsil of Jajpur district with the leaseholders resorting to wagon blasting methods to extract more stones from the hills in a short period of time. The state government had decided to crack down on rampant loot of black stones with the help of the Mines and Revenue departments. It is thought that the two departments could jointly check the loss of precious revenue the state exchequer suffers from the loot of black stones.
Fearing that they may be heavily penalised, the leaseholders, leaving aside the leased area, are allegedly mining black stone from government land through wagon blasting methods. The loot of black stones runs beyond several lakh rupees in a day which is then smuggled to various destinations in and outside the state. Wagon blasting has made lives unbearable for people living within 500 metre radius of the quarries. The locals are constantly exposed to dust pollution which they fear will result in many health hazards.
Moreover, the wagon drilling results in mild tremor-like occurrences in the area on a daily basis. The houses in the area shudder during wagon blasting while many have already developed cracks. The use of wagon blasting method has also deprived the residents of their livelihood taking away their jobs. The miscreants are digging up pits up to 200-300 feet depth and filling those with chemicals like ammonia, potash, and gun powder which they blast to extract stone from the hills. Mining of black stone from over 100 acre of government land with the help of wagon blasting method in Baramana and Barada mouzas in neighbouring Dhenkanal district is a case in this point. The government has banned wagon drilling within 500-metre radius of human habitats but the lessees continue to use the method in violation of norms. Locals have alleged that a public representative’s husband is involved in this illegal mining. The accused has engaged more than 10 persons at the site for extracting black stones worth over Rs 20 lakh on a daily basis.
Locals said that black stone is being extracted without any transit pass and later dumped at various crusher units in the vicinity. Sources said that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had directed the state government to collect Rs 320 crore as fine in various phases from 22 leaseholders in 2022-23 FY. However, the state government failed to collect the total fine amount as some lessees opposed the order and filed cases in the courts.
Meanwhile, tehsil officials have stopped leasing out quarries to the defaulting leaseholders. However, the defaulting leaseholders in connivance with some influential persons continue to plunder the mines with impunity. It is alleged that the public representative’s husband is one of the defaulting leaseholders accused of looting black stones from the quarries. He is continuing with illegal mining without any approval and forest and environment clearance. This is resulting in a heavy loss of revenue for the state exchequer. Residents alleged if the wagon blasting does not stop in their area, they will be deprived of their livelihood. Wagon blasting is also creating many large ponds.
However, the pond water becomes unfit for consumption as it gets mixed with chemicals discharged during wagon blasting process. The chemicals discharged not only get mixed with the water on the surface but also pollute the groundwater present at depth of 150-250 feet. Villagers apprehended kidney-related ailments may spell disaster for them as they have been using the water for a long time. When contacted, Dharmasala tehsildar Subhankar Mohanty said squads have been formed under various clusters to check such illegal mining adding that the Jajpur district comes under the Bhadrak cluster. He assured that necessary steps will be taken to check such illegal mining by seeking the assistance of the cluster.