TEAM HERALD
SANGUEM: After a demand notice was sent to a quarry operator at Uguem to pay more than Rs 1 crore towards the cost of illegally extracted basalt stones, Director of Mines and Geology Prasanna Acharya has now issued separate demand notices worth over Rs 2 crore to the remaining four basalt quarry operators for illegal extraction of basalt stones.
The demand notices were issued following the order of the High Court passed in a Public Interest Litigation filed by a villager, Francisco Carvalho.
It may be recalled that consequent to the disposal of PIL filed by Carvalho, all basalt quarry operations undertaken by the five quarry operators were brought to a grinding halt, as the Director of Mines and Geology, found the operations being undertaken illegally, beyond the lease areas otherwise granted to the respective quarry operators.
Of the demand notices issued recently, the Director of Mines and Geology has slapped recovery of Rs 64.96 lakh from Satyappa Gidappa Dhangalkar, Rs 16.27 lakh from M/s Danra Metals, Rs 20.35 lakh from M D’Costa and Rs 99.75 lakh from Baptista. All the four quarry operators are directed to make the default payment within one month from the receipt of the demand notice, failing which the Director of Mines has threatened to recover it as arrears of land revenue.
The demand notice states that Satyappa Gidappa Dhangalkar extracted basalt stones amounting to 33,324 cubic metres, as against the royalty paid for 8400 M3.
Similarly, the demand notice claims Danra Metals extracted 8216 M3 as against the royalty paid for 1800 M3, M/s M D’Costa is alleged to have extracted 7564 M3 of basalt stones from outside the lease area and Baptista’s figure of illegal extraction of basalt stones is pegged at 12,648 M3 and 27,200 M3 from the two leases.
