NAINITAL: Almost 70 % (1500 of the 2,227) transportation vehicles registered to carry mined material from Kosi-Dabka river bed in Ramnagar area of Nainital district have been found to be operating with fake documents.

This was revealed after registration details of these vehicles were cross-checked with the transport department and gross irregularities were found by the state forest department recently. “We had been getting regular complaints in this regard. After we conducted a checking operation , a number of discrepancies were discovered including fake documents having been made in order to carry out mining, or papers where critical details like insurance were missing,” said Anees Ahmed , Divisional Logging Manager, Uttarakhand Forest Development Corporation which regulates mining operations.

He added that an enquiry had revealed that fake signatures were created and fake stamps of transport department were used to fulfill the eligibility of carrying the river bed material.

The modus operandi of these people, according to officials, was to get the necessary documentation made and deploy the vehicles in relatively tough terrains of the river bed to avoid regular security checks.

“We have initiated the process to cancel the permissions of defaulter vehicles and further legal action is also being discussed once the investigation is complete,” Ahmed said.

Meanwhile, Vimal Pandey, additional regional transport officer, Ramnagar, when queried about the matter, said, “It is impossible to get requisite documentation without fulfilling the criteria. Since this matter has come to light, we will conduct a detailed enquiry in the matter.”

Meanwhile, forest officials said they are deploying various means to bust the network of informers that the mining mafia has in place to warn them about an official raid. Parag Madhukar Dhakate, conservator of forests, western circle (Kumaon), told TOI, “The mining mafia has fielders who keep a watch and inform them if a forest department team is on the way. Drones are being used to spot these fielders and create a database. Once the fielders are spotted and identified, we will contact them and their families to convince them to stop aiding illegal mining operations. If they fail to comply, legal action will be taken against them.”

Incidentally, the Ramnagar area has been infamous for illegal mining activities and attacks on forest department employees. Last year, a forest beat watcher was crushed under a tractor after he tried to stop transportation of illegally mined material. Rampant illegal mining also poses a serious threat to the ecosystem of the area which environmentalists warn, may trigger massive landslides and lead to soil erosion.

