Srinagar, Sept 30 (KNS): Jammu and Kashmir has put more than 10,000 vehicles under GPS-based tracking as part of an Integrated Mine Surveillance System aimed at monitoring mineral transportation and detecting unauthorised extraction and movement, the government told the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.
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‎The Mining Department said the system, established through BISAG-N, provides real-time monitoring of mining activities, including geofencing of mineral concession areas and automated alerts. Vehicles leaving lease areas without generating the prescribed e-Challan or A-form can trigger alerts to Deputy Commissioners, SSPs, the Director, Joint Directors and District Mineral Officers.
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‎The government also said that mining blocks and concessions that could not be operationalised or remained pending during 2024-26 and the current year were principally held up because of statutory clearances, District Survey Reports and technical constraints. District-wise details have been provided in the annexures to the reply.
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‎The reply was furnished by the Mining Department in response to a Question by Poonch Haveli MLA Ajaz Ahmad Jan, who had sought details of mining works and tenders that remained blocked, delayed or pending, along with information on rejected bidders, mineral extraction, revenue and regulatory violations.
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‎The government said the gap between the auction of a mineral block and actual commencement of extraction involves several statutory and technical stages.
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‎After a Letter of Intent is issued to the highest bidder, the bidder has to prepare and obtain approval for a mining plan, including a five-year excavation and production programme and a progressive mine-closure plan. The draft is examined by the district-level Mining Plan Approval Committee headed by the Deputy Commissioner.
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‎The project then has to go through the environmental-clearance process, including preparation of environmental and risk-assessment documents and processing before the competent environmental authorities. The department has described the District Survey Report as one of the key prerequisites for environmental clearance of mining projects.
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‎After environmental clearance, the project proponent has to obtain Consent to Operate from the Jammu and Kashmir Pollution Control Committee before a formal mining concession can be granted.
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‎The annexure detailing e-auctioned minor mineral blocks shows several high-value bids in Kathua still at different stages of processing.
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‎An auctioned block in Kathua involving the highest bidder Abhijeet Singh carried an offered bid of Rs 10.00 crore, while another bid involving Vikas Mahajan was Rs 10.41 crore. Other Kathua bids listed in the annexure were Rs 6.26 crore, Rs 3.40 crore and Rs 10.75 crore.
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‎In several cases, Letters of Intent had been issued but bidders were still required to submit approved mining plans, environmental clearance, Consent to Operate and the remaining 50 per cent bid amount before grant of the mineral concession.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel
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‎The annexure also records cases where proposals were still under departmental examination or where deficiencies had been noticed. In Udhampur, one e-auction was cancelled after the financial quote was found to be non-competitive.
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‎In Ganderbal, successful bidders failed to deposit the mandatory 50 per cent bid amount within the stipulated period, resulting in rejection or cancellation of their bids. The department said offers were subsequently extended to second-highest bidders in some cases, while re-auctioning was initiated for others.
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‎The department said unauthorised extraction, transportation, stocking or use of minor minerals attracts action under the J&K Minor Mineral Concession, Storage, Transportation of Minerals and Prevention of Illegal Mining Rules, 2016, including seizure and recovery of royalty or penalties.
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‎The government said it has also introduced on-the-spot imposition and realisation of penalties through Point of Sale machines across J&K districts. A multi-departmental district-level task force headed by the Deputy Commissioner is also in place to deal with illegal mining.
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‎The department said district-wise environmental committees have also been constituted for enforcement of environmental norms.
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‎The government has further designated district-wise Special Courts under Section 30B of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 for speedy trial of specified mining offences.
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‎In March 2026, the government also amended Rule 84(2) of the J&K Minor Mineral Concession Rules, empowering Deputy Commissioners, Additional Deputy Commissioners, Sub-Divisional Magistrates and equivalent officers to order seizure of illegally extracted or transported minerals, along with vehicles, machinery and equipment used in such offences.
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‎The penalty annexure for 2024-25 lists 21 violations involving stone crushers, screeners and other operators in Jammu and Kathua. The listed penalties add up to about Rs 89.51 lakh.
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‎On the question of revenue loss from non-operational mining blocks, the government said revenue from an individual block is realised only after its auction and lawful extraction.
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‎It therefore said revenue loss cannot automatically be attributed to the non-operation of a block, while acknowledging that illegal mining does result in loss of revenue.
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‎The department said mineral extraction and dispatch are being monitored through e-Challan, e-Market and other departmental systems, with mineral-wise, block-wise and district-wise details of extraction, royalty, revenue realised and outstanding dues provided in the annexures.(KNS)