EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Jan 24: The blanket ban on construction material by the Jammu and Kashmir government has made the people to suffer, who are forced to buy sand and Bajri at ten times higher rates, due to the nexus between Geology and Mining (G&M) Department and police, senior Congress leader and president of District Congress Committee for Jammu Rural, Hari Singh Chib said today.
Chib made these comments while chairing a meeting of party workers in Raipur-Domana constituency here today. Workers from across the constituency apprised Chib of the problems faced by the general public.
Chib said that the blanket ban on extraction of sand, gravel and other mining activities and ban on transportation of the same has made the common man suffer the most.
"While the government was quick in imposing the ban, where it failed was to check the prevalent black marketing which due to a prevalent nexus between Department of Mining and Geology and the Jammu and Kashmir police has now led to eight-to-ten folds increase in the cost of construction material, across the Jammu and Kashmir," Chib said.
"This has affected the construction work and the ultimately sufferers are the general public. They have to spend more to continue their construction work, as they are purchasing stone, sand and Bajri on higher rates, which is unfortunate," he said and demanded a revision on the ban.
In the meeting, Councilors Rajni Bala and Rajinder Singh said that the lower staff in Jammu Municipal Corporation was proving to be a hindrance in the developmental works of their areas.
Both the Councilors hailed the JMC Commissioner who they said has been very prompt in listening to the issues persistent in their areas and also according approval to various developmental works identified by them. "However, the lower staff in JMC has failed miserably in this regard. They have not prepared the estimates of developmental works approved as late as in 2019, thus hindering the developmental works in our areas," they said. Their callous attitude has been costing the pace of development in our areas severely, they said.
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