MP: El Dorado for sand mafia

Trade goes interstate

In the Congress rule, sand mining used to be controlled by village Panchayats.

The mining was not such a big money spinner. The BJP government made it a billion-rupee business by authorising collectors and MP State Mining

Corporation to control bidding for sand mines. The procedural change transformed the business as ruling party politicians started encouraging organised mafias to indulge in sand mining in connivance with the officers in

mining, revenue, police, transport and forest departments. With growth of size

and ill-gotten wealth of the nexus, the sand mining beckoned mafias from

neighbouring states, particularly from Uttar Pradesh. In the last two years,

mining in Madhya Pradesh has become an interstate organised crime. Chambal

and Sindh rivers in the Gwalior-Chambal region adjoining UP and Rajasthan are

an easy prey   for interstate mafias.

Sand illegally mined from the Chambal river is one-third in price compared to

legally procured sand. That is why, sand from Chambal is illegally transported

for construction works in cities of UP and Rajasthan.  Recent police actions in

the villages on the MP-UP and MP-Rajasthan borders have revealed massive

transport of sand to the neighbouring states. The growing demand of Chambal

sand has turned the mining into a veritable cottage industry in the region.

Villagers who used to collect sand from riverbeds for small profit have been

roped-in by big mafias as commission agents.  The villagers collect sand and

store the consignment at their farms for mafias to transport to cities in UP and

Rajasthan besides  towns in Madhya Pradesh.

In recent joint actions the forest and mining department sleuths detected

many such collection centres of sand in Nayakpura, Piprai villages in Bhind

district.

Illegal sand storage at farms is relatively less risky and more profitable for

villagers. As part of the big network of mafias, villagers prefer to clandestinely

collect sand at their farms. Henchmen of the mafias load the stored sand in

trucks or trolleys for transport beyond the state’s borders, often in the dead of

night. Demand for such illegal sand come from as far places as Dholpur , Agra,

Savai Madopur,Gwalior,Sheopur, Guna, Shivpuri.  Sand mined from riverbeds

of Sindh is also in high demand in adjoining states. But Chambal sand is much

cheaper. While one trolley of Sindh sand costs Rs 8000 that of Chambal costs

only Rs 1400. When the sand reaches its final destination, its price shoots up

nearly four times the price paid by the mafias to the agent-villagers.

Divisional forest officer (DFO) of Morena Vincent Raheem says the department

has   curbed local sale of illegal sand to a great extend but checking

transportation outside the state is still a big challenge.

With the government further liberalising the mining policy, more interstate

mafias are likely to join the bandwagon.