Sitting BJP MP Jugal Kishore and a few MLAs figure in the list of politicians, their relatives, and bureaucrats who directly or indirectly own 31 stone crushers that are operating across Jammu and Kashmir.
The significant disclosure was made in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on Tuesday in a written reply by the Deputy Chief Minister, Surinder Choudhary.
The revelation came from a question tabled by Dr Narinder Singh Raina, BJP MLA, seeking details of crusher units with political and bureaucratic links. According to the official reply, these 31 stone crushers are spread across 11 districts, and many of them are currently marked as ‘functional’, with a few categorised as ‘seasonal’.
According to the attached list, while one stone crusher is owned by Jammu’s BJP MP Jugal Kishore, his brother Nand Kishore is the proprietor of another stone crusher.
Senior BJP MLA Sham Lal Sharma’s son, Ankush Sharma, is in partnership with others in four stone crushers.
The name of BJP MLA Vikram Randhawa also figures in the list. Among those in the list is Gurdeep Singh Khalsa, BJP president (Poonch district). BJP MLA Pawan Gupta’s brother also figures in the list of stone crusher owners. Four stone crushers are owned by a brother of Yougal Kr Sharma, a former minister of the Congress.
Of the 31 stone crushers, the highest number of eight are in Jammu district, six in Kathua, four in Udhampur, four in Poonch, three in Reasi, and one each in Samba, Rajouri, Kishtwar, Ramban, Ganderbal, and Kupwara. Two stone crushers are in Kashmir.
The Government also informed the Assembly that 48 stone crushers have been closed or sealed across nine districts of the Union Territory for violations. The sealing of crusher units was carried out by the District Administrations and the Jammu and Kashmir Pollution Control Committee (JKPCC), and in some cases under orders of the courts, as part of ongoing action against environmental violations and regulatory non-compliance.
Providing district-wise details, the government stated that Pulwama district accounts for the highest number of sealed units at 28, followed by Poonch with 7 units and Reasi with 4 units. Two crusher units each have been sealed in Jammu, Ramban, and Udhampur, while one unit each has been closed in Kishtwar, Rajouri, and Kupwara, taking the total to 48 sealed units across the Union Territory.
However, the government clarified that none of these sealed crusher units is presently involved in illegal mining activities, despite being closed.