Stone crusher of Baghapurana MLA’s son sealed in Mukerian
According to official records, the Congress legislator’s son, Gurjant Singh Brar, set up the stone crusher on forest land on the pretext of generating employment
The Punjab forest department has sealed the stone crusher of Baghapurana Congress MLA Darshan Singh Brar’s son as it was being run illegally on forest land at Bringli Patan village in Mukerian.
The department found that the stone crusher was being run on forest land without clearance under the Forest (Conservation) Act, officials said on Monday.
According to records, the Congress MLA’s son, Gurjant Singh Brar, set up the stone crusher on the pretext of generating employment.
The forest department’s action came after the Hindustan Times report last week that Brar Stone Crusher, registered in the name of Gurjant Singh Brar, does not have the approval from the central government as under Section 2 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
Dasuya divisional forest officer (DFO) Atal Mahajan said, “A team of the department’s staff led by the forest range officer sealed the stone crusher on Friday as it did not have the NOC. Now the firm will not be able to use this unit until it gets clearance under the Act.”
Located in delisted forest area
According to the affidavit filed by Gurjant and other documents linked to the firm, Brar Stone Crusher is situated on a delisted forest area under Section 4 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA). The delisted forest land can be used only for cultivation and livelihood purposes and that too after approval from the central government under the Forest Conservation Act.
However, the firm was found using forest land for non-forest purposes on September 1, 2020. Therefore, the department had imposed a penalty of around ₹6 lakh on the unit.
The firm had sought diversion of 0.405 hectares of forest land for the stone crusher in February 2019. But it is yet to get approval. “They have applied for NOC under the FCA, but the case is pending at the higher level,” said the DFO.
Gurjant and MLA Darshan Singh Brar did not respond to repeated calls and messages.
Earlier, Gurjant had said that the stone crusher was operating according to rules. “We have all mandatory approvals, including forest clearance from the central government as required under Section 2 of the Forest (Conservation) Act to run this stone crusher,” he had said
Pending penalty-cum-royalty
Besides, the mining department has also imposed royalty of ₹1.56 crore, including a penalty of ₹78 lakh, on the stone crusher for allegedly obtaining 1,30,298 tonnes of minerals illegally. However, the MLA’s son is yet to deposit the amount and challenged the department’s decree of imposing the royalty by filing an appeal before the director of the mining department.
Caption: The forest range officer and department officials sealing the stone crusher of Baghapurana Congress MLA Darshan Singh Brar’s son Gurjant Singh Brar in Mukerian on Friday.