Minister to Raise Illegal Mining Issue with Punjab

Fatehpur MLA Bhawani Pathania raised the issue of illegal mining near Shah Canal during Zero Hour in the Assembly.

Industries Minister Harshvardhan Chauhan said today that the Himachal Pradesh government will take up the matter of illegal mining in Kangra’s border areas with the Punjab government and also file a writ petition before the High Court.

Pathania warned that if these illegal activities are not curbed, they could pose a serious threat to the low-lying areas of both Himachal and Punjab.

The Minister admitted that people from Punjab are exploiting the border dispute between the two states to carry out illegal mining in Kangra’s border regions. “Illegal crushers from Punjab are operating inside Himachal territory, extracting minerals and causing extensive damage. Though the Nurpur police have made several arrests, they were forced to release the offenders because the boundary has not been formally demarcated,” Chauhan said.

He further pointed out that unlike Himachal Pradesh, where mining is regulated under established rules, states like Punjab and Uttarakhand often flout norms and ignore regulatory standards.

Chauhan also highlighted the damage caused to the Shah Canal project by illegal mining carried out by a crusher in Changurwan village of Talwara tehsil in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur district. “There are seven stone crushers in Chak Mirpur, Punjab. Under Punjab’s mining policy, operating a stone crusher does not require a mining lease for land. These units are extracting minerals from Himachal Pradesh,” he said.