Mandleshwar (Madhya Pradesh): Authorised sand contractor, RK Gupta, owner of RK Gupta Construction, has been allegedly mining sand without paying due royalty for over a month.
Illegal mining was carried out in the whole of October month from other mines including Sulgaon, Pitamali and is still continuing, alleged an observer.
After illegal mining, illegal transportation of sand is being done through big dumpers. SDM Om Narayan Singh Badkul initiated action on illegal transportation of sand after joining the Mandleshwar section but for the last one month he seems to have turned a blind eye to the whole loot. His inaction has raised a question mark on their functioning.
In October itself, maximum illegal mining was carried out by the sand contractor on the royalty of the stock. When the District Mineral Officer was contacted about this matter, he did not pick up the phone.
The demarcation of approved sand mines in the area has not been done for many years. Taking advantage of this, sand contractors and miners are mining sand from private lands. According to the information received from the sources, sand mining from private land is being done maximum in Sulgaon, Pitamali and Jalkoti. To top it all, the administration has no plans as of now to stop illegal sand mining, said an observer.
