Gujarat Modal – 21 thousand trucks were caught over load minerals, 2 lakh trucks got out

Gandhinagar, 25 March 2021
On March 25, 2021, Congress MLAs collectively asked tough questions in the Assembly to Transport Minister Ranchod FaLdu and responded in the interest of saving the money of the people of Gujarat.

It is learned that in two years 21149 dumpers filled with overloaded soil, sand and gravel have been seized. More dumps have been seized in 2020 as compared to 2019 in Surat, Devbhoomi Dwarka, Narmada, Banaskantha, Panchmahal, Tapi, Morbi, Chotaudepur, and Kutch districts.

In Tapi and Kutch districts, three times more dumpers have been seized in 2020 than in 2019. The Corona epidemic has plagued everyone, but mineral mafias have also suffered damage during the Corona period.

Nadi Mata’s BJP performs aarti at Sabarmati. But he also steals the sand of the river. District geologists or heads of district mines and minerals earn between Rs 30 lakh to Rs 3 crore per month. That part of the earnings reaches Gandhinagar.

The builders say that what was caught is 1 percent. Survived 99 percent. Honest officials of the department believe that 2 lakh such trucks or dumpers were not seized.

Ishwar Singh Patel is the state-level transport minister of the department. Kamal Dayani is the Additional Chief Secretary and Chief Secretary of the Department. He is in charge of both posts.

Other officers of the department include Ports and Transport Department, Block no. 2, Rajo Mal, Secretariat, Gandhinagar, IAS Nagori, Secret Secretary to Additional Chief Secretary, Deputy Secretary Prakash Majumdar, R. V Bhatt, BJ Gavit, AP Makwana, B G Patel, R O Rathwa, P D Solanki, B M Chaudhary, B D Modi.

In the last two years, mineral theft worth Rs 212 crore was caught but only 10 police cases were registered. Thus, the picture is clear that the government is leaning towards the sand-mineral mafia.

The Legislative Assembly was raided 171 times in 2019 and 127 times in 2020.

Porbandar district, Asia’s largest limestone conglomerate, has already caught minerals worth more than Rs 500 crore. No raids were conducted in that Porbandar district in the year 2019. The government itself admitted that only one raid was conducted in the year 2020. The Gujarat government has saved BJP Porbandar leader and MLA Babu Bokhiria from a fine of Rs 130 crore for illegal mining.

Out of the 55 posts sanctioned for Geologist RG-2, 28 posts are vacant. Thus, a total of 50 percent of geological posts remain vacant. These vacancies have caused the mineral mafia to bifurcate.