E-Paper
Illegal mining triggers uproar in Punjab assembly session, Congress stages walkout
Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa alleges large-scale illegal mining across riverbeds in state, seeks constitution of House committee
The Punjab Vidhan Sabha witnessed stormy scenes on the fourth day of the monsoon session on Thursday as Congress legislators staged a walkout over alleged rampant illegal mining in the state, demanding the constitution of a House committee to investigate the matter.
The BJP also joined the opposition in targeting the AAP government over its handling of sand mining and questioned the status of the party’s pre-poll promise to generate ₹20,000 crore in annual revenue from the sector. The issue dominated both the question hour and the zero hour, leading to heated exchanges between the treasury and opposition benches.
During the zero hour, BJP legislator from Pathankot Ashwani Sharma alleged that illegal mining was continuing unabated, particularly along the Ravi, despite the AAP government’s promise of maintaining zero tolerance against the practice.
Sharma questioned the government’s failure to fulfil its election promise of earning ₹20,000 crore annually from sand mining and alleged that a media outlet had been threatened after exposing illegal mining activities.
“Who is patronising illegal mining in the state? The government must answer,” Sharma said.
Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa also raised the issue, claiming that large-scale illegal sand mining was taking place across riverbeds in Punjab using heavy machinery.
“You start from Ropar, Mukerian, Dasuya and go up to Pathankot, illegal mining is taking place without any interruption,” Bajwa told the House.
Demanding the constitution of a House committee, Bajwa said he was prepared to personally take members of the committee, along with the minister concerned, to every site where illegal mining was allegedly taking place. “We will show the government the ground reality and let the committee submit its report,” he said.
Minister rejects allegations
Rejecting the opposition’s allegations, mines and geology minister Barinder Goyal maintained that illegal mining was being effectively controlled by the government and that mining revenue had increased significantly under the AAP regime. “We are earning ₹862 crore from mining, which is a manifold increase compared to the revenue earned during previous governments,” Goyal told the House.
The minister dismissed the Opposition’s claims of widespread illegal mining and defended the government’s enforcement measures.
Sand mining revenue promise questioned
The controversy had earlier surfaced during question hour when Congress MLA Sandeep Jakhar questioned the fate of AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal’s promise to generate ₹20,000 crore annually from sand mining. “Where is that money?” Jakhar asked while responding to the treasury benches’ criticism of the Centre over withholding funds meant for Punjab.
Earlier, rural development and panchayats minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond informed the House that changes in the Centre’s rural development scheme had imposed an additional financial burden of nearly ₹1,000 crore on the Punjab government.
He alleged that the BJP-led Union government was releasing funds more conveniently to BJP-ruled states while delaying or restricting funds to states governed by Opposition parties.
AAP blames previous Cong govts
Joining the debate, cabinet minister Aman Arora turned the tables on the Congress, alleging that illegal mining had flourished during its tenure. Referring to former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, Arora said the former Congress leader had once submitted a list of 21 Congress MLAs to the party high command, alleging their involvement in illegal mining. “Who started illegal mining in Punjab? We are trying to set things in order,” Arora said.
As the exchanges intensified, Congress legislators pressed for further discussion on the issue and demanded immediate action. After the Speaker declined to allow additional debate, Congress MLAs entered the well of the House, raised slogans against the government and later staged a walkout in protest.
Bajwa seeks report on ‘Operation Hard Ball’
Separately, Bajwa raised the issue of ‘Operation Hard Ball’, demanding that the Punjab government place before the House a detailed report on the allegations emerging from an FBI-led international investigation into organised crime networks.
Bajwa referred to disclosures by the United States Department of Justice alleging that inspector Gurinderjit Singh Nagra, then station house officer of Tanda police station, had colluded with members of the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria gang to extort nearly USD 400,000 from an Indian-origin family in California by threatening to falsely implicate their relatives, including women, in a murder case.
He further claimed that a joint investigation involving agencies from the United States, Canada and Europe had exposed links between transnational organised crime syndicates and gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi, Goldy Brar, Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, Rohit Godara and their overseas associates.
“Can such a network operate without the knowledge or protection of those in power? The AAP government owes an explanation to the people of Punjab. It must clarify whether organised crime has infiltrated the policing system under its watch,” Bajwa said.
“The allegations suggest that police machinery was allegedly misused to support organised crime,” Bajwa said, adding that he would reveal the names of other senior police officers allegedly involved in similar activities at an appropriate time.
