Nitish govt cracks a whip on sand mafia

New Delhi: In a major move, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government has decided to crack a whip on illegal sand mining, which is rampant in many districts, including Patna, Saran, Bhojpur, Aurangabad, Nawada, Kaimur and Rohtas.

The district administrations have been tasked to confiscate the property of those involved in the illegal sand mining under the different provisions of the law. The move is seen as an initiative to 'compensate' the revenue losses that the state is facing after the implementation of the liquor ban as Rs 9.81 crore fine has been collected so far from offenders.

Given that a truckload of sand is sold at Rs 30,000 to Rs 35,000, illegal sand mining has become a very lucrative business in Bihar for the mafia, who operate in connivance with politicians, police, and officials of mines as well as geology department.

In Saran, Chirand village is a hub of sand smugglers as the village is situated on the confluence of Ganga and Saryu rivers that has NH-9 connectivity.

As per officials, sand excavated from the nearby Sone river in Patna and Bhojpur districts is shipped to Chirand in boats and from there it gets smuggled to north Bihar and neighbouring districts of Uttar Pradesh.

Commenting on the issue, Saran range DIG Manu Maharaaj, who is regularly taking stock of the sand mining activities, said, "The SPs of Gopalganj and Saran have been instructed to send a detailed report against those involved in the racket so that the process for confiscation of their property could be initiated."

However, Saran SP Santosh Kumar, a 2014 batch IPS officer, claimed that he had launched a drive against the sand mafia in May and registered 35 FIRs against 357 persons and impounded 576 vehicles. The Saran district administration has collected a fine of Rs 4.28 crore and 39 persons have been arrested in this connection.

Similarly, in Rohtas district, a fine of Rs 3.79 crore has been collected so far, while Rs 1.73 crore has been collected from Kaimur.