On the outskirts of
Porbandar lies the murky, lucrative world of illegal limestone mining.
An official investigation reveals the nexus between several big-time
politicians and petty operators.
Illegal mining has eaten away the Barda sanctuary
Porbandar has always shared very little with the ideology of its most
illustrious son. The gun, and not Mahatma Gandhi’s message of
non-violence, has been dominant in this coastal district which boasts
of the largest limestone deposits in the country.
A massive investigation by the Porbandar district administration and
the State Mines and Mineral Department over the past year and a half
has revealed that powerful local politicians, goons and petty operators
have illegally mined 1.50 crore tonne of limestone worth Rs 500 crore
over the past decade in the district.
The investigations are going on and the final figure could be higher
still.
The main operators in the racket are all big-time politicians—former
BJP minister Babu Bokhiria, a local gangster Bhima Dula (he is also the
brother of BJP MLA Karsan Dula), his son Laxman Bhima and former
Congress MP Bharat Odedra.
The three— Bokhiria, Bhima Dula and Odedra— are closely related to each
other. While Bokhiria was arrested on the eve of the recent Gujarat
polls and is still in jail, Odedra is out on bail and has been barred
by the court from entering the district.
Dula is already in jail on an earlier charge of murder. Apart from the
trio, there are several small operators in this racket who are brazenly
looting limestone from the mines with impunity.
The whole operation came to light in 2006, when the district collector
H.N. Chibber and police chief raided a big mine near Porbandar and
caught several labourers illicitly excavating limestone.
On interrogation it was found that they were working for the trio
Bokhiria, Bhima Dula and Odedra. As per the records the mine belongs to
Saurashtra Chemicals, now owned by the Nirma Group, but has never been
excavated by the company. The police has charged the trio with theft of
limestone worth Rs 56 crore.
Says Arjun Modhwadia, leader of opposition in the state Assembly and
Congress MLA from Porbandar, who won the recent poll defeating Odedra’s
wife and BJP nominee Shantaben, “Bokhiria and Bhima Dula are the
backbone of this racket.
They have flourished only due to the patronage they have got from
Gandhinagar.” Says Devsinh Modhwadia, a local Congress worker and
student leader, “Illicit mining is the source of all unlawful activity
in Gandhiji’s birth place.
If this can be brought under control, it should have an overall
positive impact on Porbandar’s environment.” Both Bokhiria’s wife
Shantaben and Odedra have refused to comment on the issue.
Says Bharat Lakhani, Bokhiria’s lawyer in his defence, “Bokhiria has
many legal limestone mines in Porbander out of which he is earning more
than enough. Where is the need for him to do illegal mining? In fact,
he has become a victim of the machinations of a few people who want to
settle political scores with him."
There are 251 official limestone mines in the district out of which 129
produce high-grade limestone while the remaining 122 produce the
lowgrade variety.
High-grade limestone is the key raw material in the manufacture of a
soap ingredient, soda ash and cement. Low-grade limestone, on the other
hand, is used to make stone slabs for homes. A survey by the mineral
department found instances of illegal mining by 45 licence holders in
the case of high-grade and 18 in the case of low-grade limestone.
There are three different ways of mining illicitly. The kind being done
by Bokhiria and the gang, where one mines someone else’s property, is
rare.
A vast majority of the cases are of official licence holders not
excavating limestone from their mines but from neighbouring land which
either belongs to the government or is officially cattle-grazing land
for villagers.
The third kind of cases are ones in which illicit miners take
power-of-attorney from official licence holders to operate their mines
and then excavate limestone from neighbouring government or
cattle-grazing land.
In one case, where Bhima Dula is a lone accused, the police found an
unexcavated mine in the name of his late father with limestone stocks
worth Rs 77 lakh—a clear indication that the mineral had been mined
elsewhere and stocked at the mine.
Bokhiria was arrested only after a PIL was filed by Porbandar-based
lawyer Bhagubhai Devani in the high court seeking his arrest on the
grounds that while several others were arrested in connection with the
case, this man was “roaming scot-free” because of alleged political
pressure from Gandhinagar.
He was reportedly in the UK when a court order, warning attachment of
property, forced him to rush to India and court arrest.
The police has registered 12 FIRs in major cases while in other minor
cases, the Mines and Minerals Department has issued notices to people
with FIRs to be filed later.
Rampant illegal mining has also had an impact on the environment.
Cattle-grazing land near the Barda hills on the periphery of the
district, from where Barda wildlife sanctuary begins, has been ravaged.
Illegal mining has also been taking place in the Coastal Regulation
Zone (CRZ) in Kuchdi village.
chunk of government land in the village, measuring three sq km,
was looted of lowgrade limestone worth Rs 119 crore.
In the early ’80s, gang wars between the people of Kharva and Mer (two
local and dominant OBC castes) over government limestone mining
contracts were commonplace and had led to several murders. BJP, when it
came to power in the state in 1995, brought a semblance of order by
cracking down on the gangs. The clashes ceased but the murders continue.
Over the past decade and a half, nearly half-a-dozen killings have
taken place in Porbandar over illicit limestone mining, the last being
that of a limestone supplier Mulu Modhwadia, a supporter of Arjun
Modhwadia, who was allegedly murdered last year by the henchmen of
Bhima Dula for challenging his illegal activities.
Bhima Dula was later jailed on the charge of murder in the case.
The Narendra Modi Government denies it tried to shelter anybody
involved in illicit mining. Says a Government spokesman, “Though this
mining racket has been going on for years, it is our Government that
has unearthed it. For this, it should be patted, not rebuked.” Clearly,
it will be some time before the controversy comes to an end.
MINE OF WOES
* 1.5 crore tonne of limestone worth Rs 500 crore
has been illegally mined over a decade from Porbandar district.
* Official mining licence holders have been
excavating limestone from government or cattle-grazing land near their
mines.
* There are 251 official limestone mines in
Porbandar and 63 licence holders have been found guilty of illegal
mining.
* 12 FIRs have been filed by the Porbandar police
with prominent local politicians also charged. Notices have been issued
in other cases.
