Raising questions regarding the dredging operations in the Beas River in Kullu, BJP MLA from Dharamshala, Sudhir Sharma, said that an impartial, high-level inquiry into the entire matter is essential.
He alleged that the mining-related work was executed through the forest department instead of the mining department, resulting in a massive loss of revenue and royalties for the state government.
Sharma alleged that neither the base value price nor the mandatory bank guarantee was deposited with the government during this process. If this is true, the government must clarify on what grounds and at which official’s level permission was granted to proceed with the work without fulfilling these financial formalities.
He said that an even more serious issue is that the cabinet approval for conducting mining through the forest department was allegedly obtained hastily via circulation.
Sharma claimed that, according to the rules enforced by the government of India, the forest department is not an authorised agency to conduct mining operations. Demanding that the government make the relevant central rules, permissions, and statutory basis public, he said that if any special permission was obtained, it too should be placed before the public.
He alleged that there are serious questions regarding the role of an influential leader from Kullu in this entire affair, with allegations surfacing that the work was transferred from the mining department to the forest department under that leader’s influence. “The government must clarify on whose recommendation this decision was taken and who benefited financially from it,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}He alleged that there are serious questions regarding the role of an influential leader from Kullu in this entire affair, with allegations surfacing that the work was transferred from the mining department to the forest department under that leader’s influence. “The government must clarify on whose recommendation this decision was taken and who benefited financially from it,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}He said that the government must provide documentary answers to several questions: the quantity of mineral material extracted from the river, its base value price, the royalty due to the government, the amount actually deposited, the reason why no bank guarantee was obtained, and the final destination of the extracted material.