Illegal mining hotbed area’s XEN along with 22 others transferred; former XEN yet to get posting orders

Illegal mining hotbed area’s XEN along with 22 others transferred; former XEN yet to get posting orders

Kanwar Inder Singh/ April 11,2023

Punjab government has issued transfer orders of 23 executive engineers of water resources department. In today’s order, Anandpur Sahib Executive engineer Rupinder Singh Pabla has been transferred and Rajat Grover has been deputed as Executive engineer water resources, mining Ropar and Anandpur Sahib in place of Pabla.

As per today’s order, no fresh posting has been given to Rupinder singh Pabla.  Pabla also came to limelight last year when he fails to act in time on November 16,2022’s enforcement directorate (ED) instructions to the Punjab mining department to add more sections in the already lodged FIR against mining contractor Rakesh Kumar Chaudhary, for alleged illegal mining on the  complaint of the mining department.

Acting on the ED’s letter, the state mining department had issued a letter to the executive engineer cum district mining officer Rupnagar and Sri Anandpur Sahib to act immediately as per ED’s instruction and respond to the chief engineer, drainage-cum-mining geology-I, department of water resources, mining and geology ,Punjab and asked them to do the needful on priority basis and respond the head office in two days. But, he fails to act in the stipulated time frame.

Ropar, Anandpur Sahib area is amongst the hotbed areas where rampant illegal mining was going on. Hundred of cases have been registered in connection with illegal sand mining since the formation of the AAP government in Punjab.

Illegal mining hotbed area’s XEN along with 22 others transferred; former XEN yet to get posting orders. In a major crackdown against illegal mining in the state, the mining department seized one Poclain machine and four Tippers near the Swan River in the Rupnagar district on April 3,2023 and four poclain machines and five tippers were seized from near Swan River, last month in Ropar district. Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer had informed that the department and the police jointly raided the villages adjacent to the river at Anandpur Sahib and seizes the machines being used in illegal mining in the area.

Is Punjab mining department trying to protect mining contractor? seems adopted dilly-delaying tactics; failed to follow ED’s instruction

(royalpatiala.in News)