₹2 cr penalty slapped for mining violations in Nainital, US Nagar
The state mining department slapped a penalty of about ₹2 crore in three cases of mining violations in Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar districts in last two days
Intensifying its campaign against illegal mining and related violations, the state mining department conducted raids and slapped a penalty of about ₹2 crore in three cases of mining violations in Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar districts in last two days.
The department took action against large-scale illegal mining happening in Baelpadav of Semalchod area of Nainital. (HT File)
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The department took action against large-scale illegal mining happening in Baelpadav of Semalchod area of Nainital, said Raj Pal Legha, the deputy director of mining department on Thursday.
“During our raid, we found that one Maninder Singh was mining RBM (river bed material like sand, stones) from his land without any permission,” he said.
Legha said according to a rough estimation Maninder Singh had mined over 11,500 sqmt of RBM from his land. “We have slapped a penalty of ₹90 lakh against Maninder Singh for illegal mining,” he added.
On Wednesday, the department conducted raids at two stone crusher units in Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar respectively. Legha said for illegal storage of RBM, they slapped a penalty of ₹46 lakh on the owner of GN Stone Crusher in Udham Singh Nagar and also seized his crusher. “We also slapped a penalty of ₹57 lakh on the owner of Sagar Stone crusher in Nainital district, where we found illegal storage of RBM,” he said.
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Legha said anti-illegal mining raids will continue in both the districts. “We want to ensure no illegal mining happens in this area. We have been getting inputs about illegal mining from various areas. And accordingly, we are taking action,” he said.
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Legha said anti-illegal mining raids will continue in both the districts. “We want to ensure no illegal mining happens in this area. We have been getting inputs about illegal mining from various areas. And accordingly, we are taking action,” he said.
Neeraj Santoshi is the Chief of Bureau for Hindustan Times in Uttarakhand, where he leads the state reporting team while covering government, politics, environment, wildlife, Uttarakhand High Court, and issues shaping the Himalayan region. With more than two decades in journalism across conflict zones, he has covered politically sensitive regions and environmentally fragile landscapes, and focused on stories that combine public interest with in-depth storytelling. An alumnus of Pune University with a Master’s in Communication Studies, he has reported extensively from Jammu & Kashmir (2003-2010), Madhya Pradesh (2010 to 2018 ) and Uttarakhand (Since 2018), covering subjects ranging from insurgency, elections and governance to wildlife conservation, mining, climate change, agriculture, human rights and social justice. He has covered politics and legislative assemblies of both Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh over more than a decade. Before taking over as Chief of Bureau in Uttarakhand, he served as Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in Madhya Pradesh and earlier reported for both Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in Jammu & Kashmir, where he covered state politics, environment and insurgency-related developments. Over the years, his stories have focused on environmental degradation, wildlife, illegal mining, governance and the changing social fabric of Himalayan states and Central India. He is particularly interested in long-form explanatory journalism, and stories that explore the intersection of ecology, conservation, governance and society. Outside the newsroom, Neeraj enjoys reading widely on neuroscience, consciousness studies, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics, with a special interest in Kashmiri Tantric Shaivist traditions. He is also passionate about wildlife, mountaineering and the Himalayas, interests that continue to inform his reporting and deepen his understanding of the region he covers.
