Murum quarrying on 41 hectares at Chandankheda, revenue dept silent on permit

Murum is being excavated on a large scale on about 41 hectares of land at Survey No. 360 in Chandankheda Sanja, Bhadravati taluka. The land falls under the revenue area. The revenue administration has so far given no clear answer on whether the required permission has been taken, what limit has been set for the excavation, how much has actually been dug and in whose name the licence is held. This has created an atmosphere of suspicion around the whole matter.

It is also being said that more of the excavated minor mineral is being transported at night than during the day, which has made the matter more serious. If the excavation is legal, the revenue department should place the permission, the sanctioned area, the excavation limit, the royalty and the transport rules before the public.

Villagers are asking whether the concerned talathi, circle officer, gram sevak and the revenue machinery are unaware of the excavation and the movement of vehicles on this scale. If they are aware, why has no action been taken? If they are not, villagers ask what the local revenue machinery's monitoring system and the flying squad set up against illegal minor minerals actually do. Villagers are angrily saying that the talathis are either truly asleep or pretending to be.

Illegal or rule-violating excavation raises the risk of soil erosion, dust pollution, damage to roads from transport and harm to the ecological balance. The matter should therefore be examined from the environmental angle as well, and not treated only as a revenue issue.

If the excavation is legal, the revenue department should tell the public in whose name the permit or approval stands, for what area it was given, how much excavation is permitted, how much has been dug so far and how much revenue the government has received. If it is going on without permission, the question is also being raised why immediate action is not being taken against those responsible.

Discussion is also going on in the area over whether the excavation has some political patronage, or whether there is collusion between illegal operators and some people in the machinery. There has been no official confirmation of this so far. The administration should therefore conduct a transparent inquiry and bring out the truth.

Villagers demand that a panchnama be drawn up at the spot, the excavation be measured, the permission be checked and the transport records be examined. The whole area is now watching Bhadravati Tehsildar Panmand to see what action the official takes after taking cognisance of the matter.

The administration will now have to answer who is protecting the illegal excavation and, if the excavation is legal, whether the revenue department will disclose its quantity, permission and rules.