AAP failed to use technology to check illegal mining: Bajwa

Strap: Govt hits back at the Leader of the Opposition, terms his statement misleading

: Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Partap Singh Bajwa on Thursday slammed the AAP-led Punjab government for its “failure” to use technical mechanisms to keep a check on the rampant illegal mining in the state, eliciting a sharp reaction from the state government which termed the Congress leader’s statement misleading.

“Even though it was one of the main election commitments of the AAP to rein in illegal mining in the state and earn ₹20,000 crore from the mining. However, in its two-year regime, it could neither earn ₹20,000 crore from mining nor did it end the illegal mining,” Bajwa added.

However, an official spokesperson of the mining and geology department said the state government has taken strict action to stop illegal mining with the intervention of the latest technical mechanism.

He said all mines are geo-tagged and geo-fenced by the department before the starting of the mining operations. Currently, geotagging or geofencing of mines in the state has already been completed and are also available in the public domain through department portal.

Calling Bajwa’s statement “misleading”, the spokesperson clarified that the allegations regarding mining activities in Punjab are categorically incorrect and contrary to the claims of the LoP as the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEF) issued comprehensive guidelines in 2020, emphasising the use of geo-fencing and geo-tagging for mining sites.

“Instead of squandering Punjab’s exchequer on party expansion, fake publicity, air travel and pursuing bogus Delhi models, the AAP government should develop the technical know-how to rein in illegal mining. The AAP government elicited condemnations from the Punjab and Haryana high court and the Union ministry of defense because of unchecked illegal mining in the state,” Bajwa added.