Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi on Friday flagged the “alarming scale of illegal quarrying in the Panimura range of Karbi Anglong” in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Seeking an independent inquiry into the alleged quarrying in the Sixth Schedule district of Assam, Gogoi pointed out that “these (quarrying) operations, which are reportedly functioning without valid environmental clearances, pose a grave threat to the ecological balance of the region, the safety of local communities and the integrity of our legal and regulatory frameworks.”

“It has been reported that quarry operators were originally permitted to extract 3 lakh cubic meters of stone over a period of seven years beginning in 2017. However, according to credible accounts from local residents and documented complaints, the actual extraction has already exceeded 80 lakh cubic-meters within this period,” the letter said.

“This is an astonishing figure that far surpasses the legal limits. The operations have caused severe air and noise pollution, placed nearby communities at risk and led to enormous financial losses to the exchequer. This episode is not an isolated one. It reflects a pattern of organised plunder of natural resources in Assam. The scale of extraction, the brazenness of violations, and the impunity with which they are carried out point to a deeper malaise,” Gogoi, who is also the deputy leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, stated.

The Congress has become active in the hill district, administered by the BJP-led Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council, hitting the streets by taking up issues related to tribal land, rights and protection.

In his letter, Gogoi also reminded Modi about his earlier correspondences, including the one regarding the death of nine persons in the Januaray 2025 illegal rat-hole mining mishap in Dima Hasao district, another Sixth Schedule area.

“At that time, I was informed that an inquiry commission and a special investigation team had been constituted, and that 245 illegal mines had been sealed. Yet there has been little clarity on the outcomes of those proceedings.” he said.

The Congress leader also flagged his May 2025 letter on the Enforcement Directorate’s media release exposing a coal mining and transportation syndicate operating across Assam and Meghalaya.

Urging the central government to order an independent investigation into the Panimura quarrying operations, Gogoi’s letter also wanted the Centre to “review the progress of earlier coal-related inquiries and immediately suspend all unlawful activities”.