Beed cashes in on ash as govt reins in mafia

MUMBAI: A significant move has been made to cut short criminal activities running rife in Beed – the ash mafia flourishing in the district’s Parli tehsil has received a setback, as contractors have started lifting fly ash from the local thermal power plant, the Parli Thermal Power Project. The mafia, purportedly supported by local politicians, is believed to be the backbone of all unlawful acts in Beed, whose murky underbelly was exposed following the brutal murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh. He was murdered when he tried to stop an extortion bid at a windmill plant in Massajog village.

The Maharashtra State Power Generation Company had allotted bids to lift wet fly ash, which is used in brick kilns and for road construction, from state owned Parli Thermal Power Project in November 2023. However, contractors were unable to do the job, despite winning the bid to lift 1.40 lakh metric tonnes (MT) at ₹353 per metric tonne, faced with resistance from the local ash mafia.

That seems to be a thing of the past, following the state government’s promise to bring Parli back to normalcy by busting the mafia raj.

“At present ash is lifted under the protection of 15 police personnel and the process is gaining momentum. On Friday, the contractors lifted 530 MT. We also have reserved stock of 72,000 MT for the local villagers which will be sold at ₹100 per MT,” said Sunil Ingale, chief engineer, Parli Thermal Power Plant. The plant generates 750MW energy daily by burning 10,000 MT coal which generates 4000 MT ash daily. It is one of the major thermal power plants in the state.

Navneet Kanwat, superintendent of police, Beed, said, “Police protection is being provided to the thermal power project for transportation by charging an amount laid down by law.”

Ingale said, the ash will help government generate revenue and reduce the rate of electricity for consumers. “The bidders could not lift the fly ash owing to the opposition by the locals for one-and-a-half years, but with the support from the chief minister and government the activity has resumed,” he said.

Shivaji Deshmukh, a social activist from Parli, said the government’s move to bring law back to the district has had a multi-fold effect on the social life of citizens. “Since ash is lifted legally, contractors follow norms, which has reduced pollution. Earlier, as contractors carried out their business illegally, they would lift more ash, engage more vehicles, and not cover the ash. This harmed the roads and bridges,” said Deshmukh.

Earlier, mafia gangs in the tehsil were known to illegally lift hundreds of tonnes of ash daily without paying the government and flouting all established norms. According to rough estimates, the mafia lifted over 10 lakh MT in the last five years leading to the loss of over ₹35 crore to the government.

Deshmukh’s murder that triggered a strong public outcry brought the focus on the lawlessness in Beed, especially Parli, the hometown of NCP MLA Dhananjay Munde and his close aide Walmik Karad, who was subsequently booked under MCOCA in Deshmukh’s murder case. Karad was also accused of protecting the illegal ash trade cartel – underscored by BJP MLA Sursh Dhas, who has been vocal against the flourishing crime in Beed.

It is because of the reign of terror wielded by the cartel that official bidders could not lift the ash from thermal power plants.