Lawless prospectors
Illegal mining in Gujarat exposed
When Porbandar-based Saurashtra Chemicals, owned by detergent giant Nirma, lodged a police complaint in the first week of October 2006 alleging mineral theft from its captive mine in Adityana village near Porbandar, public knowledge about the size of the illegal mining racket in the coastal areas of Saurashtra, Gujarat, was scanty.
Following the complaint, the state mining department started a special drive in Saurashtra to investigate illegal mining. In two months, it detected theft worth Rs 436 crore from 12 villages in Porbandar district. "In these villages, the mining mafia have almost destroyed grazing lands by extracting minerals,' says Harinesh Pandya, secretary, Janpath, an Ahmedabad-based NGO that is campaigning against mining in coastal areas.
"Well-connected people operate leases through power of attorneys or simply in someone else's name.When leases are given for one mine or piece of land, these are used to mine on government wastelands. More than 1,380 million tonnes of minerals was extracted,' said an officer involved in the raids. "By showing the minerals came from approved mines, the miners would pay royalty, since royalty-paid material is