Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo on Saturday stressed the importance of taking strict action against those involved in illegal mining across Jammu & Kashmir.

The Chief Secretary was speaking at a meeting called to assess the working of the mining department here.

During the meeting, the Chief Secretary took note of the availability of minor minerals for infrastructure projects in the Union Territory (UT). He also directed to ensure the availability of construction materials to the public at government-approved rates.

Dulloo impressed upon the concerned to go tough against the illegal miners. He told them to use the provisions of enforcement measures quite rigorously to put an end to this illicit practice.

He enjoined them to study the model adopted by other states and UTs in auctioning their mineral blocks, especially in Gujarat, Rajasthan and MP for realising maximum revenue out of them. He also called for completing new initiatives like establishing a Mining Surveillance System and Mineral Check posts to curb this menace effectively.

In his presentation, the Commissioner Secretary, Mining, Vikramjit Singh informed about estimates of different mineral blocks identified in various districts of the UT.

He stated that J&K has about 3,400 metric tonnes (MT) of limestone, 43 MT of gypsum, 427 MT of quartzsite, 3826 cubic metres of granite, besides significant quantities of dozens of other minerals.

Regarding the enforcement measures initiated by the department, he said that more than 6,000 vehicles involved in ferrying illegal minerals have been seized by the department and an amount of Rs 1,627 lakh realised as a penalty from offenders.

The meeting was further informed that the department has granted 205 minor mineral leases so far, besides identifying 60 new blocks of minor minerals across districts. The department has realised Rs 130.58 crore as bid royalty and penalty against these mineral blocks up to January this year.

Moreover, it was added that the Directorate of Geology & Mining has constituted provincial-level flying squads to conduct surprise checks and prevent illegal mining and penalising vehicles involved in illegal extraction.

The department has also launched the e-Market Place/e-challan web portal for ensuring transparency, accountability in the sale and purchase, and transportation of minerals on notified rates from source to destination in J&K.