Apni party stages protest in Anantnag demanding roll back of existing geology and mining policy

Sameer Ahmad

Anantnag: Apni Party leaders including workers today staged a protest here in South kashmir’s Anantnag District demanding the roll back of existing Geology and Mining Policy in Jammu and Kashmir.

Talking to Media, party leader Abdul Raheem Rather said that in order to get rid of the existing anti-people ,minor-mineral policy, they said that Apni Party has decided to stage peaceful protest demonstrations at district headquarters across the Jammu and Kashmir against the policy.

He further said that there is an acute shortage of construction material in Jammu and Kashmir. The shortage and illegal mining has not only led to skyrocketing prices of construction material like sand, stones, gravel, aggregate etc but it has significantly halted the construction works including the Government’s prestigious developmental projects.

Earlier ,there would be no e-auction of minor mineral blocks in J&K and lakhs of families associated with the mining sector would sustain their livelihood since ages. Now the non residents of J&K have been allowed to participate in the e-auctioning process which was carried out in a clandestine manner. It seems the locals associated with this sector were kept out of e-auction that was done at a time when the internet services were shut in J&K,” he added.

He said that not only prices of raw material have skyrocketed, but the livelihood of lakhs of families was severely affected. Extraction of sand, gravel, boulder stones etc is halted. Business of Quarry owners, Crusher owners, Tipper owners, Tractor operators, Hot-mix & Wet-Mix Plant owners, drivers, masons and other concerned people has been jeopardized. This way the existing mining policy has tremendously added to the unemployment scale in J&K, he said.

Meanwhile ,the party leaders have demanded   LG administration to revoke the Geology and Mining policy here in Jammu and Kashmir because the policy affects livelihood of lakhs of families ,he said.