On Saturday, a meeting was held at the district office auditorium under the leadership of District Magistrate Navneet Pandey to effectively prevent and control illegal mining transportation and storage. This meeting was part of the district-level committee set up to tackle illegal mining.
During the meeting, the District Magistrate instructed the members of the district task force to continuously carry out campaigns against illegal mining and overloading. He emphasized that transportation of sub-minerals should not occur without valid documents, and he directed the relevant officials to conduct regular checks. He announced that all vehicles involved in mineral transportation must be equipped with GPS. This measure will curb illegal mining and prevent revenue loss for the government. The GPS will allow the department to track the location and route of the vehicles. The District Magistrate also mentioned that registration of mining vehicles should ensure the installation of the GPS system. Furthermore, he stated that vehicles without GPS and those lacking clear identification numbers at the front and back will have their licenses revoked and will be seized throughout the mining season, and action will be taken against those responsible.
He stressed the importance of effectively controlling and preventing illegal mining. Additionally, he mentioned that there should be only one vehicle registered per RFID, and vehicles without number plates will not be allowed entry for mining activities, which will help reduce mining theft. Displaying clear vehicle numbers at the front and back of mining vehicles will be mandatory.
The District Magistrate also directed the department to ensure that all weighbridges are operating correctly. He proposed that two weighbridge entry points and two exit points be established to prevent illegal mining.
The meeting was attended by Superintendent of Police Ajay Ganapati, Commandant SSB Anil Kumar, Sub-Divisional Forest Officer Neha Chaudhary, Sub-Divisional Forest Officer Haldwani Shalini Joshi, District Mining Officer Chitra Joshi, ARTO Surendra Kumar, District Disaster Manager Devendra Patwal, and representatives from the Forest Development Corporation. The Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Tanakpur, Akash Joshi, joined the meeting virtually.
