Haryana to use satellite imagery to monitor mining activities

: The Haryana government has decided to use satellite imagery for the regular monitoring of mining activities, state chief secretary Sanjeev Kaushal said on Friday.

He said that all the vehicles transporting material from any mining contract area will be equipped with GPS.

Kaushal held a meeting of the state level task force committee and emphasised the need to increase the number of check posts in sensitive areas where illegal mining poses a significant problem.

The chief secretary said that CCTV cameras should be installed at locations designated for parking the impounded vehicles involved in illegal mining.

Stressing on strict monitoring of illegal mining in the districts, he said that regular monthly meetings of the district-level task force should be held and the minutes of these meetings should be uploaded on the portal.

An official spokesperson said that in the first quarter of the year 2023-24, 120 FIRs were registered against illegal mining, resulting in the impounding of 343 vehicles. A fine of over ₹2.35 crore has been collected from these offenders.

During the previous year, 1,349 vehicles involved in illegal mining were seized, and fine amounting to over ₹14.89 crore was recovered. In Nuh district, 68 vehicles engaged in illegal mining were seized, and 23 FIRs were registered in 2022-23.

During the meeting, Kaushal discussed reports regarding mining activities in Dadri, Bhiwani, Khanak, Mahendragarh, and Panchkula. He also issued instructions to monitor the case of Belgarh in Yamunanagar in accordance with the directives of the NGT.

Senior officers, including additional chief secretary (ACS-environment, forests and wildlife) Vineet Garg, ACS (mines and geology) Arun Kumar Gupta, and principal secretary (transport) Navdeep Singh Virk were present in the meeting, while deputy commissioners and superintendents of police of districts attended the meeting through video conferencing.