Cuttack, Sept. 18: District collectors, superintendents of police and divisional forest officers will crackdown on illegal quarrying of minor minerals — black granite, black boulder, laterite stone and mohurum — in the 10 central division districts in the state.

“The aim is to curb nexus between mafia and revenue personnel (and other corrupt public servants) that has led to flourishing the illegal quarrying operations,” revenue divisional commissioner (central) Arabinda Padhee told The Telegraph today.

He said: “I am seeking to make tehsildars fully accountable for theft of minor minerals in any manner. If pilferage is found anywhere, the tehsildar concerned will be held responsible and criminal charges will be framed against him.”

During a recent visit to Darpan tehsil, Padhee was “shocked” to come across “rampant illegal quarrying operation and theft of minor minerals” from government land, which had not been leased out.

Padhee found minor minerals “amounting to crores of rupees” being “systematically stolen” from government land of forest category. Either the tehsildars were not aware of “this plundering” or they had ignored the illegal quarrying operations with some malafide intention.

“I have already issued a detailed note to the tehsildars of all the 10 districts in central division, directing them to take all possible steps to prevent any kind of illegal quarrying anywhere under their jurisdiction,” Padhee said.

“The collector along with the superintendent of police and the concerned divisional forest officer will periodically review quarrying operations under different tehsils in their respective districts and furnish report to the revenue divisional commissioner and the government,” the note issued on September 13 specified.

The 10 districts under the central division of the state include Balasore, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Khurda, Mayurbhanj, Nayagarh and Puri.

The revenue divisional commissioner has directed the tehsildars to keep close watch over quarries, leased out to ensure implementation of the environmental principle at the time of operation. Besides, he has also ordered to keep track of those government lands or quarries, which have not been leased out in any manner, but there is a possibility of illegal quarrying due to local advantage.

“Instead of simply collecting fine for illegal transportation of minor minerals, the tehsildars should file FIR against the illegal transporters,” he said.

“When there is unauthorised mining activity and the principles of environmental clearance are dispensed with, there will be loss to the government exchequer as well as depredation of the environment. Either way the society at large will suffer,” the commissioner said.