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.

MP: El Dorado for sand mafia (two)

Rivers facing existential crisis

Pahanbarri was a small village of 3000 people in Hoshangabad district. Situated

on the bank of Tawa river, the 200-year old village was known for its fertile

soil. Tawa is a tributary of the Narmada. On August 1 last year, the river

changed its course, broke its bank and entered the village. A thick layer of

sand, up to four feet in height enveloped the thriving paddy and vegetables

sown in 500 acres of its agricultural land. About 100 acres of land which were

fields earlier, is a part of the river now.

Residents of Pahanbarri submitted a memorandum to the district authorities

to relocate them completely as there is no hope of a return to normalcy. They

say that sand mining in Maroda village, upstream of Pahanbarri along the

Tawa, has caused this damage. If the mining continues, they will have to face

more instances of flooding like this.

This is just one example of devastation the rampant sand mining has been

causing to the rivers and land in the state. Like Tawa, a dozen of other

tributaries of the Narmada river are facing existential crisis. Sand mining has

reduced half a dozen tributaries of Narmada in Narsinghpur district into muddy

culverts. Two decades ago, rivers such as Shakkar, Sher, Sitarewa, Dudhi,

Umar, Barureva, Pandajhir, Majha and Hiran used to flow majestically. There

riverbeds would be used to produce plenty of water melons and muskmelon

(Kharbuja). The sand mafias’ insatiable greed has almost killed the rivers. The

three-tier layers that shored the rivers have been destroyed due to illegal

mining. Narmada, a lifeline of Madhya Pradesh, is also pockmarked at many

places along its 1000-km course through the state with shallow swamps.

Sindh river in Gwalior-Chambal region is probably the most heinously raped

river. On the banks of the river  in Chandpur and Raipur ghats, sands worth

billions of rupees has been dredged with the help of submarines and boats.

The mafias have drilled as deep as 70 to 80 ft in the river to dredge sand.

Specially built crude submarines are brought from UP for drilling in the river.

Mafias are not afraid of   using even dynamites to break stones in the rivers.

Environmentalists say the explosions by dynamites have caused massive

damage to Narmada, Chambal, Betwa, Kel and Banganga rivers. The stone

quarrying has not only disturbed course of the rivers but has also damaged

biodiversity along the banks. This is because mafias get trees felled along the

rivers. The felled trees are used as wood to heat the stones on the riverbeds.

The heating softens stones and render them easier to break. Quarrying along

the Son river in the Vindhya region has seriously endangered the Ghriyal

sanctuary.

Environmentalist Dr Rajiv Chouhan of the For Conservation of Nature says

rampant sand mining has posed grave danger to environment. If this continues

unchecked, rivers will die. Sand acts as filter in a river. If sand is dredged out

uncontrollably, this will not only cause fall in the water level but also pollution

of the rivers.

Expressing concern over illegal sand mining from Narmada riverbed, the

central bench of the National Green Tribunal has asked the ministry of

environment and forests (MoEF) to examine the impact on rivers in the last ten

years.

The bench’s directions came while hearing a petition filed by and NGO

'Paryavaran & Manav Sanrakshan Samiti' in August last year.

 “ The MoEF must come forward with a practical policy taking into account the

present nature and the pace at which the development is taking place and also

taking into account the negative impact it is going to have on the ecology of

various rivers as sand is generally extracted from the river bed,” the order

stated.

The bench also directed the state government to file an affidavit regarding how

many cases had been registered against those persons on whose behalf

unauthorised extraction or transportation of mineral  had been carried out in

MP.

MP: El Dorado for sand mafias (one)

Coming days will be marked by hectic activity in sand mining

business in Madhya Pradesh. Lease periods of a majority of the

state’s 1700 sand mines have lapsed in March. State

Government’s liberal mining policy, announced on March 12, has

ensured that the multi-billion rupee sand mining business attracts

more players for bidding. A pleasant sensation is running through

the veins of those who control, monitor and protect the sand

mafias spread across the state.  These include ruling party

politicians and personnel of police, forest, mining and revenue

departments. Their cosy nexus is geared up to jockeying the

favourite ones for cutting best possible deals in nearly Rs 70,000

crore sand mining trade. Stake is higher this time around. The

state government has not only expanded the area of mining but

has also set a highly ambitious target for revenue. To meet the

target, significant changes have been made in the policy to

facilitate mining in larger areas.  

A taste of the things to come is apparent in the audio conversation

between BJP MLA from Bhind Narayan Singh Kushwaha and a

senior mining officer. Kushwaha is heard demanding Rs one lakh

from the officer. The audio went viral on March 18. The BJP MLA

is a protégé of union mining and labour minister Narendra Singh

Tomar, who is alleged to be the most powerful protector of the

sand mafias in the Chambal-Gwalior region. Just how audacious

the illegal sand minors have become under political patronage in

the region can be gauged by a recent revelation of a temporary

bridge built on the Sindh River to transport illegally mined sand.

On March 20, the bridge collapsed due to overweight of the sand

traffic. Then only the Bhind district administration woke up to the

seriousness of the illegal mining. The collector and SP with a large

posse of police rushed to the spot. , However, unsurprisingly, no

one was arrested.

Madhya Pradesh has become a veritable El Dorado for sand

mafias in the last 10 years of the BJP rule. Illegal sand mining

business is estimated at Rs 20,000 crore. The state government

gets peanuts in royalty compared to the stupendously huge profit

the mafias manage to pocket. Sand mine contractors bid for mines

through forming groups or companies and sometimes in

individual capacity. Cartelisation of contractors is also a common

practice in Chambal and Gwalior region. The cartelisation ensures

that the auction process remains under control of a group of

contractors. The most controversial company in this field whose

name is often tossed around in political discourse on illegal sand

mining is the Bhopal-based Shiva construction company. This is

because the company’s promoters are allegedly linked to the

family of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

The company’s rampant mining operation in Nasrullahgang area

in Budni assembly constituency of the chief minister is frequently

cited by the opposition as a proof of the administrative

connivance with the sand mafias at the top level.

In 2012, a Congress MLAs’ committee did a spot survey of the

company’s operation. The panel found that in Sehore district's

Nasrullaganj area, the Shiva Company had illegally carried out

activities in ten villages, even though permission was granted

only in four villages.

The then leader of opposition Ajay Singh alleged in the state

assembly that Shiva Construction Company was granted

permission for sand mining in 16 hectares area in four villages

but it had carried out mining operations in 377 hectares area,

causing a threat to the course of the river and environment.

The Congress committee’s spot survey followed a senior mining

department officer’s report. Subsequently, a show cause notice

was served by the mining department on December 2011 to the

Shiva Corporation. This company was alleged to have illegally

mined sand estimated worth Rs 378 crore. Within days of the

show cause notice, the concerned officer was transferred. The

Shiva Company has thrived in the last five years even as the fine

slapped on it for violation of lease terms remains unrecovered.

Sand mining is a relatively low-risk and low-capital business

compared to mining of major minerals. Therefore, there are no

big players in the sand mining trade.

Big players are in mining of major minerals such as coal, iron,

bauxite etc. Two most controversial mining barons in the state

are Sudhir Sharma of SR group and BJP MLA from

Vijayraghavgarh Sanjay Pathak. Sharma is in jail since January

2014 for his neck-deep involvement in the professional

examination board (PEB) scam.  His transformation from a

private school teacher to a billionaire power-broker within a

decade of the BJP rule in the state bears inglorious testimony to

the vice-like grip of the mafias in the government.  Sanjay Pathak

had won 2008 assembly election on Congress ticket. At that time

he had declared his assets worth Rs 34 crore. In 2013, he showed

assets worth Rs 141crore while filing nomination for the

assembly poll. Within six months of winning on the Congress

ticket, the 43-year-old politician-businessman from Katni district

resigned from the party. He had wisely anticipated that BJP is all

set to form government at the Centre under Narendra Modi’s

leadership. He returned to the state assembly on BJP ticket.

Mining department sources say illegal sand mining is largely

politician-controlled trade. In almost all districts, ruling party

MPs, MLAs and other leaders handpick their acolytes to bid for

mining. In some cases, family members act as the front for elected

representatives too. Sand mines are the chief minister’s one of the

most potent instruments to win loyalty of local BJP leaders across

the state. That is why, the chief minister office (CMO) virtually

controls the bidding process through the chief minister’s most

trusted IAS officer SK Mishra. He is   secretary to the chief

minister as well as public relations commissioner. Till, 2012,

Mishra was the secretary, mining. But the nationwide outrage in

the wake of the murder of IPS officer Narendra Kumar Singh on

March 8, 2012 forced the chief minister to shift Mishra from the

mining department. The raging controversy had brought to the

fore how the then mining secretary favoured chosen few in giving

mining contracts at the behest of the chief minister.

However, Mishra still holds sway in the mining business.

Although incumbent mining secretary Shiv Shekhar Shukla has

sought to bring transparency in the bidding process, sand mafias

are confident that it is Mishra who still calls the shot in contract

allotment.

Shukla, another trusted IAS officer of the chief minister, is hopeful

that the e-auction process introduced in the new sand mining

policy will curb practice of illegal mining to a great extent. On

March 21, Shukla told prospective sand mine bidders through

videoconferencing that “through the new technique the auction

will be open to all and entire process will be transparent.”

However, those in the know of the government functioning are

sceptical of Shukla’s claim.

Right to information (RTI) activist Ajay Dubey,  who has brought

to the fore many a wrongdoing in the mining business, says the

mafias are too well entrenched in the business to be weeded  out

through e-auction unless the chief minister shows  strong political

will to clamp down on them.

Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Arun

Yadav says the policy is fundamentally flawed as it allows the

government to cherry pick prospective bidders.

Mafias in connivance with ruling party politicians and

bureaucrats have been mercilessly plundering the state’s river

beds. Rampant sand mining has posed existential crisis for over a

dozen rivers in the state. State’s bio-diversity is in serious danger.

Concerned over the alarming degradation of  environment  due to

untrammelled sand mining,  The National Green Tribunal  (NGT)

in August  last year  ordered a blanket ban on sand mining. The

Madhya Pradesh government cried foul over the NGT verdict,

arguing that this will badly hit the construction industry. State

government’s plea against the NGT ruling is under the Supreme

Court consideration.

Now the state government has come out with a new sand mining

policy which not only subverts the NGT   ruling but also invites

mafias to dredge and transport sand from across the state’s rivers

with greater impunity.

The state cabinet on March 12 approved a Sand Mining Policy

2015, notifying an additional 3,000 hectares of area for quarrying

to bring down market prices of sand and make it available at

cheap rates. The Shivraj Singh Chouhan government has given a

free-will to rural inhabitants to obtain and use sand free of cost.

Persons from rural areas need not purchase sand anymore.

Health minister and government spokesman Narottam Mishra

says under the new policy state mining corporation will

undertake sand mining throughout all tehsils of 18 districts.

 "Mining Corporation at present is engaged in sand mining from

only 53 tehsils of those 18 districts. New policy gives the

corporation excavation rights in all tehsils of the districts," Mishra

explained. "In the remaining 33 districts, collectors will auction

sand mines through e-auction."

The corporation will also give quarrying contracts through e-

auction. Bidders for this process under provisions of the Sand

Mining Policy will have to deposit only 10% as security deposit as

against earlier 25%. "E-auction and rationalization of security

deposit amount will simplify bidding process and bring

transparency," Narottam Mishra claimed

New policy has abolished provision which earlier prohibited

another sand mine within 10 km radius sanctioned to the state

mining corporation. Provision to charge royalty equal to that

charged by the corporation has also been abolished on the

grounds that this will make sand cheaper to the consumers.

Although environmental clearance is still mandatory, the policy

provides for optimum mining of sand in the state.. Government

argues this will make more sand available at affordable rates in

open market and bring more revenue to the exchequer.

As of now, the district collectors auction, operate and control

1,237 sand mines on an area of 2,677.554 hectares. Of them 1,181

mines on 2,070.01 hectares are of less than 5 hectare while 55

mines are of 607.54 hectare of more than 5 hectare.

The State Mineral Development Corporation operates, auctions

and controls 450 sand mines. Of them 285 sand mines of less than

5 hectares while 165 are of more than 5 hectares.

Under revised plan the sand mines will be of 5 hectares or more

with a total area of 9570 hectares across the state. However the

number of mines will be 1,009. The collectors will now operate

586 sand mines while the corporation will run 423 mines in 5,033

hectares.

The government has envisaged revenue of Rs 880 crore against

existing Rs 180 crore from auction of 2.28 crore cubic meter of

sand each year.

The corporation will levy Rs 125 per cubic meter as royalty and

administrative expenses while collectors will levy equal royalty

from an expected quantity of 6.80 crore cubic meter against the

total available quantity of 2.28 crore cubic meter earlier.

Insiders of the sand mining business contend that the state

government’s extraordinary generosity towards sand miners will

make competition in the business more violent. Average two

persons reportedly get killed per day in violence related to illegal

sand mining activity in the state. In 2013-14, as many as 715

persons lost their life in clashes among mafias and with police. In

2014-15, the death toll rose to 457 till December 31, 2014. The

brutal killing of IPs officer Narendra Kumar Singh in Morena

district on March 8,2013 had  caused nationwide uproar. Singh,

who was SDO (police), was run over by the driver of a tractor

trolley laden with illegal sand. His death brought illegal sand

mining in Madhya Pradesh in national focus but the outrage

petered down with passage of days. Incidents of attacks on police,

forest, revenue officers and personnel are quite frequent in the

state, particularly in Gwalior-Chambal region. But they seldom

attract attention of the national media. In December last year a

police constable was injured when sand mafia attacked a mining

inspection team after it seized tractor-trolleys allegedly carrying

sand without valid documents near a village in Hoshangabad

district.

The team, led by mining inspector Archana Choudhary, spotted

the sand-laden vehicles and stopped them for checking. As the

team was taking the tractor-trolleys to Dehat Police Station, the

attackers pelted stone, causing injury to constable Hemant Raj, he

said. Such violent attacks on government personnel are more

frequent in the Chambal region but are highly underreported.

Reports on the nexus of mafia-politicians-bureaucrats are even

rarer in the media. The nexus is so well-entrenched in political life

of the state that it has ceased to shock people.

The new policy is likely to add more violence to the gory business

of illegal sand mining because notorious dons from Uttar Pradesh,

Rajasthan and Delhi are reportedly eyeing the lucrative business.

Coming days are crucial for sand mining as fresh bidding for

mines is set to start after April.  Most of the sand mining leases

have elapsed this month.  

Madhya Pradesh Congress committee president Arun Yadav says

the new mining policy will further strengthen the grip of the

nexus on mining business.

‘ Sand mafias influence the bidding process and the government

succumbs to their pressure. Since ruling party politicians provide

protection to mafias, the government does not act against them.

As a result, the state exchequer suffers revenue loss to the tune of

hundreds of crore of rupees”, he alleges.

Staggering figure of non-recovery of fines on the sand mining

companies corroborate PCC chief’s allegations.   In two of the 51

districts in the state—Sehore and Mandla—alone the

administration has failed to recover Rs 1300 crore as fine slapped

on sand miners for violating the lease terms. In almost all districts

50 to 100 cases each are pending against sand miners but the

nexus of mafia-politician-bureaucrat manages to scuttle punitive

action against the offenders.

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