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| Kashmir’s influential families under scanner for manufacturing cement ‘illegally’ | | |
Early Times Report
Jammu, Sept 19: In a shocking development that has put Jammu and Kashmir to losses worth crores of rupees, some “influential business families” in Kashmir have come under scanner for allegedly illegal manufacture of cement.
Sources said the dynasts, who ruled Kashmir had given a free-hand to such influential business families for mining for cement production without requisite license.
Sources said the government has come to know that such influential families who own cement plants in central Kashmir had been manufacturing the cement without license for mining of the raw material from the nearby mountains as the same had expired several years ago.
A senior official told Early Times that the license for such mining had expired years ago and that “since then it was never renewed which means that they had been doing the mining illegally.” “These businessmen were always close to the dynasts. When Abdullahs were in power they would be chamchas of NC and when Muftis were in power they were chamchas of PDP, and through this Chamchagiri, they grabbed fortunes putting Jammu and Kashmir to unwanted losses,” said the senior official on the condition of anonymity.
He said the unlawful mining had put J&K to huge losses.
Sources said what is even shocking is that how were the Industries Department and the Department of Geology and Mining silent over such loot of government resources over the years.
Senior officials said there was a need to call a high level probe into the matter.
“How can we let such big sharks go away without penalty, when they have minted crores at the cost of the public,” the official asked.
Sources said it cannot be ruled out if dynasts in league with such business families were responsible for the “virtual collapse” of the J&K government owned cement factory which once used to be a profit making unit.
When contacted a senior official said no formal complaint in this regard has come to their notice but that there’re “feelers of such mining done without license in the last few years.”
Despite repeated attempts the allegedly influential families couldn’t be contacted for comments. |
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