Go tough against illegal mining, J&K Chief Secretary asks departments

Jammu, Dec 19 (PTI) The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary on Tuesday directed officials to go tough against illegal mining and called for a smoother licensing procedure to help public get the necessary construction material.

Atal Dulloo made the remarks in a meeting with officials from the department of mining and divisional administration.

He asked them to devise effective deterrents to curb such operations and facilitate the issuing of mining permits so that the people do not face any shortage of necessary minerals.

The bureaucrat asked the departments to expedite the process of exploration of major minerals to augment the resources of the Union Territory.

Dulloo took note of the revenue models to be adopted for auctioning of some of the valuable blocks of lithium, bauxite and others.

He also asked officials to streamline the auctioning of the mineral blocks and make every effort to operationalise all blocks already auctioned.

He said that the constitution of J&K Environment Impact Assessment Authority is in its final stage of constitution, and once completed, it will ensure a smoother availability of minerals in the market.

Secretary, Mining, Rashmi Singh informed the meeting that dozens of blocks of limestone, gypsum, coal, magnetite, lignite, granite, and sapphire have been identified for exploration in the Union Territory.

She said 208 Minor Mineral Leases have been granted by the department through e-auctioning.

The department has realised an amount of Rs 101.85 crore during the current financial year issuing 3,643 short term or disposal permits for the extraction of ordinary earth to facilitate execution of projects of national importance and other government works in J&K from January 2020 to November 2023, the meeting was informed.