New Delhi:
According to the CISF, the operations were carried out between July 4 and July 8 under the provisions of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, as part of the Government of India’s “Zero Coal Leakage” initiative. The drive followed the empowerment of designated CISF officers under Sections 22, 23B and 24 of the MMDR Act.
Earlier this week, Home Minister Amit Shah had asked the agency to enforce “zero leakage” with regard to illegal coal mining in the region.
Official sources said the intelligence-based operations were conducted in coordination with subsidiaries of Coal India Limited, local police and district administrations across the coalfields of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL), Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) and Central Coalfields Limited (CCL).
During the operations, the CISF recovered a total of 428.34 metric tonnes of illegal coal, registered four FIRs, seized one Hyva truck, more than 13 motorcycles and other equipment allegedly used in illegal mining and transportation, and apprehended several offenders.
At BCCL in Dhanbad, the CISF conducted raids in Katras, Block-II, Basantimata, Kustore, Sijua, Jealgora, Barora, Govindpur and NTST areas, recovering 319.54 metric tonnes of illegally stored coal. A coal-laden truck and several motorcycles were also seized following intelligence inputs supported by drone surveillance and field verification.
In ECL’s Sheetalpur region, operations covering Rajmahal, Salanpur, Chitra, Chapapur-II OCP, Sonepur-Bazari and Kunustoria areas led to the recovery of 85.93 metric tonnes of illegally mined and stocked coal. The CISF also inspected coal depots, weighbridges, transport documents, and production and dispatch records, while seizing vehicles used in illegal transportation and apprehending trespassers.
At CCL Piparwar, the CISF intercepted a Hyva truck allegedly carrying concealed illegal coal and recovered 13.62 metric tonnes of coal. The coal and the vehicle were handed over to the local police for further legal action.
In a separate operation at CCL Kargali, the CISF recovered 9.25 metric tonnes of illegally extracted coal and seized seven motorcycles allegedly used in illegal mining.
The force said the operations relied on human intelligence, drone surveillance, monitoring of transit routes, surprise inspections, verification of transportation documents, inspections of coal depots and weighbridges, and GPS-enabled documentation.
The CISF said it would continue coordinated enforcement with the Ministry of Coal, Coal India Limited, its subsidiaries, state governments and police authorities to curb illegal mining, coal theft and unauthorised transportation through stringent legal action.