Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir administration has leased sand mining in the river Jhelum in Kashmir to non-local contractors nine months after reading down Article 370.
This is for the first time in Jammu and Kashmir that any non-local can get mining lease of sand or other minerals. Article 370 was a shield for outsiders to get such lease on minerals of the erstwhile state.
In Srinagar district, 10 non-local contractors have been allotted sand mining contract of the river Jhelum, from Lasjan downstream to Mujgund area of Batmalo.
Joint Director Geology and Mining Imtiyaz Khan told ETV Bharat that the tenders were put online during September last year. "We had out out the tendering process online last year. Many local contractors applied for tender and got the bid. It was open for all," he said.
He said most of the bidding rights have been got by contractors from other states.
Sources said that out of all the contracts locals have got only 30 percent of the sand blocks for mining in the river. The mining lease will be for five years. But this has set fears among locals who say that hundreds of people will loose avenues of earning.
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Social activist Raja Muzaffar Bhat told ETV Bharat that the centre government had claimed that abrogation of Article 370 will provide jobs to people, but the new schemes of things is snatching livelihood from locals.
"Thousands of people earned livelihood from mining. We don't know whether non local contractors will hire local labour or bring labour from outside Kashmir," he said.
Environment experts raise concern of degradation of river Jhelum and threat to its ecology due to excessive mining. However, the government officials said that they have taken care of the environment concerns of the river while allotting the lease for mining.
An official in Irrigation and Flood Control department told ETV Bharat on condition of anonymity that they have strictly restricted use of machines for mining to protect the river's environment.
"No contractor will use machines for mining. If any contractors violates the terms of the contract, his lease will be cancelled," the official said.
