Shimla, March 30 A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) presented in the state assembly on Monday said that over 40,000 cases of illegal mining activities were identified between 2018-19 and 2022-23.
The report revealed that the mining administration neither operated in a planned manner nor had a robust monitoring system, which directly impacted both revenue and the environment.
In 2022-23 alone, more than 8,000 cases of illegal mining were reported, coinciding with an increase in government revenue from mining, it said.
Revenue rose from Rs 221 crore (7.81 per cent) in 2018-19 to Rs 286 crore (9.97 per cent) in 2022-23, with a total revenue of Rs 1,236 crore being generated over the five-year period.
According to the CAG, the Department of Industries failed to formulate a single annual action plan throughout the period, and mining operations continued without any systematic planning.
As a result, royalties were not accurately assessed, mines were not subjected to regular inspections, and scientific data regarding mineral reserves could not be compiled.
Negligence was also observed in the disposal of mining lease applications. In 14 out of 73 cases, a delay of 71 to 1,184 days was recorded, it said.
Among the reasons cited for these systemic weaknesses was the failure to implement a global positioning system (GPS) tracking system.
Moreover, the government did not form district-level task forces or a central flying squad.
The report also raised doubts about the effectiveness of the inspection mechanism employed by the officials.
In Bilaspur and Una, the number of inspection visits fell short of the target by 19 per cent to 94 per cent. In Shimla and Solan, inspection records were entirely unavailable.
Shortfalls in royalty collection amounting to Rs 1.81 crore were recorded across 27 mining leases. In these mining cases, the collection of rent, interest, and other fees was incomplete.
The use of funds from the District Mineral Foundation Trust (DMFT) was also unsatisfactory, and out of the Rs 239 crore in sanctioned funds, only 19.66 per cent was actually used, the report revealed. Consequently, 80 per cent of the projects remained incomplete.
The report said that individuals affected by illegal mining activities were not identified in ten out of twelve districts, barring Solan and Una.
