Chandigarh: Haryana mines and geology department has partnered with the Haryana Space Application Centre (Harsac), a collaborator of ISRO, to establish a dedicated control and command centre, chief secretary, Sanjeev Kaushal said after presiding over a meeting of state level task force, here on Wednesday.
Kaushal said that the centre would employ cutting-edge satellite remote sensing technology to offer real-time insights into illegal mining, drawing inspiration from the successful application used for monitoring stubble burning in agricultural fields.
Strict vigilance will be observed at mining sites
Stressing the importance of deploying a static and mobile police force in district offices and mining sites to conduct raids on suspected locations, he also underlined the need for meticulous geo-referencing at various mining sites to address both legal and illegal mining activities.
The integration of photo CCTV at weighing bridges had further enhanced transparency and accountability and added that the new system had seamlessly connected 1,157 weighbridges, resulting in the generation of 2,46,560 e-rawanas (exit permits) as of January 9, last.
Harsac tie-up to devise mechanism for monitoring
Mandip Singh Brar, director general, mines and geology department, informed the meeting about the department's concerted efforts in collaboration with Harsac to devise a mechanism for monitoring GPS-equipped vehicles. He said that the transport department was concurrently formulating a scheme mandating GPS installations in all commercial vehicles, enhancing overall tracking capabilities.
It was further apprised in the meeting that in response to recent events and the obligations towards the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the department had intensified mining recovery efforts. To further combat illegal mining, geo-referencing was being meticulously carried out at various mining locations, and drones were set to be deployed for enhanced monitoring.
