Bengaluru: Pleading helplessness, Karnataka Home Minister Dr G Parameshwar has admitted that the political leaders cutting across the party lines were involved in the illegal sand mining and there was little anyone could do about it.
Interestingly, the admission came on the floor of the Legislative Assembly, when Devadurga MLA raised the issue during question hour, alleging that even the police did not take action despite the MLA herself lodging a complaint with them.
Expressing his helplessness in curbing the menace, Dr Parameshwar said: ``Illegal sand mining is a big racket. I am not giving any explanation or naming anyone, as it is a little embarrassing. I have only given a restricted answer, but it involves many influential people. I will call a meeting to discuss the issue.''
Earlier, MLA Karemma of JD(S) charged that her home district of Raichur was full of illegal activities, where the police are also involved with the criminals. ``There have been many cases of illegal sand mining, matka, gambling and thefts in Raichur district. Sand is mined from the Krishna river basin continuously at night. Farmers complain that the dust settles on their agriculture land due to this illegal mining, which harms their field. The special task force to contain illegal mining is just on the papers and they have ensured that no CCTv cameras are installed or no registers are maintained in the check posts to monitor the movement of these vehicles, which have caused many accidents,'' she lamented.
``Since I started voicing against the sand mafia, some vehicles follow me whenever I go around the constituency on official work. Repeatedly, I also receive threats. Though the government has invited bids for mining sand, the bids are not open. Many big sharks, who are involved in this money spinning racket do not want the legal sand mining in place. If the bids are opened, the revenue goes to the government and the illegal miners will lose their profit,'' she charged.
Alleging that the police were hand in glove with the entire racketeers, Karemma said that a few people had come to her house and threatened her. Later, when they held a press conference, police had given them the security.
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``The tippers and trucks used for illegal mining will not have number plates and if they run over anyone, the police say that they could not track the vehicle, as it didn't have number plates. If these people can threaten MLA like me, imagine the case of common people,'' she told the house.
Assuring proper safety for her, Dr Parameshwar said that around 400 cases have been booked in Devadurga during the last two and half years. ``We know that the magnitude of illegal sand mining is much bigger and we will initiate action against the police who have connived with the illegal sand miners,'' he adde
