LS member wants task force on lines of NIA to curb illegal mining

BJP Lok Sabha member Brijendra Singh on Tuesday demanded the setting up of a task force on the lines of the National Investigation Agency to curb illegal mining across the country.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Singh cited the recent killing of a deputy superintendent of police in Haryana by the mining mafia.

The Lok Sabha member from Hisar said the issue of illegal mining transcends state boundaries and hence the task force on the lines of the National Investigation Agency was the need of the hour.

BJP member Saumitra Khan demanded a heritage city tag for his constituency Bishnupur in West Bengal.

Trinamool leader Sudip Bandyopadhyaya demanded the inclusion of Garo and Khasi languages in the eighth schedule.

He said Garo and Khasi languages have already been granted the status of associate official languages of Meghalaya.

RSP member N K Premachandran demanded that the government withdraw the proposed changes to the Mines and Mineral (Regulation and Development) Act that seeks to allow private sector companies to mine beach sand minerals.

Premachandran said as per the current law, only state-run companies are allowed to mine beach sand minerals.

He said the amendments proposed by the government aim to include eight of the 12 atomic minerals, including lithium-bearing minerals, zirconium-bearing minerals, and beach sand minerals, titanium-bearing minerals, minerals of rare earth group containing uranium and thorium, into a new category of critical and strategic minerals. Premachandran said the amendments would allow the Centre to give concessions for these minerals to both public and private sector mining companies.

He said the amendments would also take away the rights of state governments to issue mining licenses and dubbed the move as an assault on the federal structure of the Constitution.