Censured MP CM instructs officials to prevent illegal mining firmly

Censured MP CM instructs officials to prevent illegal mining firmly
Bhopal, December 09 (Pervez Bari): After having been castigated by the main Opposition Congress party in the Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha during the no-confidence motion and then bluntly snubbed by its own, the NDA convener Sharad Yadav a few days back over the large scale illegal mining in Madhya Pradesh the Bharatiya Janata Party, (BJP), ruled state Government seems to have woken up from deep slumber and has decided to stem the rot that has set in on this aspect. As such Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan has instructed that illegal mining should be prevented firmly. Intensive campaign should be launched to detect and curb such activities. He said that he will also review the actions taken during the campaign after January 15. The Chief Minister issued these instructions to officers during a videoconferencing at Mantralaya, the state secretariat, here on Thursday. This campaign will be conducted between December 15 and January 15 as per Mr. Chouhan''s instructions, an official spokesman said.
Mr. Chouhan said that officers of administration, police, forest and mining departments should coordinate to take major action. Collectors should hold Task Force''s meeting twice a month. Maximum fine should be imposed in cases of illegal mining. Collectors should review cases of illegal mining pending in courts and subordinate courts with a view to ensure their early disposal.
He said in strong words that action should be taken against illegal miners under Section 21 of MMDR Act 1957 for illegal mining and transportation and under Section 379 of Indian Penal Code in cases of raw minerals. FIRs should be lodged against them like cases of theft of government property. Besides, strict action should also be taken against vehicles and drivers engaged in illegal transportation of minerals under Motor Vehicle Act 1988 and MP Vehicle Rules 1994. All the entries in the software developed for Mining Department should be made within time-limit.
It may be mentioned here that a prominent daily had carried reports of illegal mining in Satna district of the state exposed by Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest Jagdish Prasad Sharma in his report.
Chief Minister Mr. Chouhan said that no black-marketeer of fertilisers be spared. Action will be taken against the concerning officers if such a complaint is received. He asked the collectors to keep a constant watch over supply and distribution of fertilisers. Strict Action should be taken under Fertilisers Control Order, Seed Control Order and Essential Commodities Act if information about irregularities is received. He said that stern legal action should be taken against those supply fake fertilisers and seeds to farmers.
He said that the State Government is committed to providing a good, clean and responsive administration. Corruption will not be tolerated in any form. He said that collectors are vigilance officers of districts and should use intelligence for collecting information related to corrupt practices. He said that boxes will be installed at district offices, Vallabh Bhavan and Chief Minister House for giving corruption-related information. Complaints will be looked into and strict action will be taken against the guilty. Mr. Chouhan said that Antyodaya Melas should be held before February 11, 2012. He said he will make surprise visits to Melas with a view to reviewing arrangements for the fairs. He said that process is underway for giving pattas to Schedule Tribes beneficiaries who are residing on the land under their possession since long, the official stated. (pervezbari@eth.net)
Date: 09-12-2011