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| Bring on the right track the J&K department of Geology and Mining | | | Bhushan Parimoo
It has been unbelievable and painful to learn that the department of J&K Geology and Mining is under the spell of nonprofessional management. Whereby reduced to deceit and lies laced with artful coaxing. This Department was established in 1960 for Geological explorations to improve upon what was already known that proved a futile exercise. In its entire history of sixty years of establishment, out of thirteen Directors the Department has so far, only two were the Geologist. Mr Tasadiq Hussain, its first director, and third in line Sh A, R Mir. Despite the fact the section of the Himalayan mountains here is one of the significant segments that cannot be ignored. Geological fraternity world over are bound to question the rationale behind such a callous approach to deal with it. The Geologists from the state are second to none and have created a niche for themselves world over among the geological fraternity.
There is a long unending list of the Geologists who are the first to be where others followed them be it Everest, Antarctica,fathomless oceans. Scores of Geologists of the soil have been Directors of GSI, and to its credit also foreign assessments. As such there should not have been any dearth of Geologists to be placed at the helm of affairs. Himalayan Part that falls in the state and other formations correlated formations, has many a riddles of missing links that are matter of intensive study. Department should have worked on the lines of Wadia Institute, keeping in view climate change , impact of abnormal sprouting of Hydroelectric projects, Glaciology, Geomorphology Climatic geomorphology, Biogeomorphology,
Seismology, and other related fields inquest. State exhibits its own unique Geological formation, and possesses a complete Geological calendar. For a Geologist, once in a lifetime Pilgrimage to Kashmir to study its geology is a desire in preference to acquire firsthand knowledge and study it from various aspects. Geological Survey of India had two training sites to train and expose, it Geologists ,one at Ashmaquam, Pahalgam and another a Khrew Khanmouh, sharpen the investigating practices, apart from many other sites till 1990, were forced to wind up due to charged scenarios. State has a long and unmatched history with regard to study of the geological formations here. Earlier to the establishment of the Geological Survey of India. It started with the, Frederick Drew serving as a Geologist for a decade during the rule of Maharaja Ranbir Singh. Others that followed him are Richard Lydekker Walter King, Hugh Falconer, Fredric Drew, William Theobald, T.D. La Touche,R.D.Oldham and C S Middlemiss , laid the foundation for understanding of the geological history of the state. D N Wadia (1934) extended work that is being carried by the Geological Survey of India till date . By the time the Department was established 1960, the State had already been very rich in exhaustive material to rely upon, the result of 79 years of intensive research .And in next sixty years under new dispensation, the Department has been brought down to functions as a Royalty contractor, for permitting to lift Sand, Boulder, Gravel, Cobble etc. From the beds of the rivers, streams and nallahs. It reminds of Hans Raj and Kans Raj the royalty contractor of Parade Ground Jammu . In place of one contractor there is now a full-fledged the Directorate of Geology Mining.
No government worth its name can afford to have such a type of White elephant. Now the question arises in case the Directorate has to be mere Royalty contractor, then better this assignment should be either with the J&K Minerals Limited is a fully owned Government Company as per Memorandum of Association, is to exploit the mineral resources and to establish mineral based industries in the state of Jammu & Kashmir. In other case it is the Department of Irrigation and Flood Control, under whose jurisdiction these water channels fall, its nature of work to constantly monitor, regulate, behaviour far and wide through its horizontally wide spread technical staff .Besides this arrangement tentatively shall be at zero cost. Flood gates for extraction under unscientific manner have been thrown open, putting to wind caution and norms as alleged by Sh Farooq Ahmedh Khan as the Director of the department. There is an element to truth, as during the Save Tawi Campaign, around 2012-14, rang him to take note of unscientific extraction which had ravaged the river bed. Proving detrimental to the health of the river and aquatic life therein. On the other hand it was conveyed that the department is only doing its duty to realise the dreams of Sh Atal ji to connect India. Since then gates are ajar for minor minerals extraction, exclusively for the group most of them who represent in the name democracy on various forums or their Banami face. Most Stone crushers and hot mixing plants are said to be owned by them. Even a recent letter which became a matter of debate pointed it to the office of the Prime Minister. Beans were spelled in the month of may this years in a widely published press conference by Sh Vikram Randhawa former Member of the Upper house in the Assembly on Illegal Mining Issues. Later an apology cooled down the matter, but news became rife, compromise is better part of valour, Kettle cannot call pot black, all are sailing in the same boat once in case torpedoed with facts the whole ship shall sink, better to keep afloat for mutual interest.
Apology in the materialistic world matters hardly when it involves money. Naturally under these circumstances the Department of Geology and Mining has been reduced to mere a file pusher for furtherance of the Stone Crushers Caucus. Geologists would have kept the whole scenario in mind before contemplating any action. That may be the reason that all these years not a single attempt was raised at any level to bring the working of the department on rails and hand it over to the professional. The caution and care practiced by the illiterate, for extraction of minor minerals manually carried by them for generations after generations, has been replicated in the Sustainable Sand Management Guidelines issued by the Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change formulated the Sustainable Sand Management Guidelines 2016.
It has been observed after detailed inquest that Blocks to extract minor minerals are being identified , assessed by the Caucus at their own level, taking into consideration all the eventualities that may arise at any level beside local one. The principle that every person has a value is applied to wade through. And then the Department is brought into picture. A statutory prerequisites provision that calls for the Comments of the stakeholders on the mining lease to be auctioned are not adhered to. Wherein it is has to make available every detail as prescribed such as location, area to be mined , distance between two adjoining blocks, habitation, distance of the site from the Bridges both upstream and downstream, distance from river banks, running water, monsoon period to be off period for mining, impact on adjoining forests , flora , Fauna and aquatic life, quantity to be extracted year wise and rate of envisaged replenishment , itinerary with regard to quantum of extraction, its store, transport plan, Drone surveillance has to be shared discussed across the table in the meeting. The State Government has to advertise in the local and national newspaper for seeking comments of the general public on the list of mining lease included in the District Survey Report . The same has to be placed in the public domain for at least one month from the date of publication of the DSR.Audit of the mined area as per norms has never been heard off.
Instead favour and brow beat those who have genuine reservation of the manipulated facts. Blocks are auctioned first, after allotment goes for public hearing. Where every coercing method is applied in connivance for personal gains. District Development Commissioner authenticates the status of land, and it is he who presides over the public meeting as a District Magistrate, question arises can any commoner , mostly hapless section dare to ask that papers seem defective in nature being local knows better.
In the end but not the least, the situation reminds us that blind man’s wife is at the mercy of God, it applies to blind civil society, who see nothing hear nothing as such speaks nothing.. |
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