STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: The Stone Crusher Owners Association (SCOA) while criticising anti industrial policies demanded immediate scrapping of SRO-105, issued during Governor’s Rule on 31st March, which imposes blanket ban on any sort of mining. While interacting with the media persons here on Saturday, Ch. Vikram Randhawa, President of SCOA, strongly condemned the dictorial attitude of the bureaucrats who has issued SRO-105 and that too in the absence of the popular government in the State.
Randhawa, while elaborating SRO-105, said that according to this SRO a blanket ban is imposed on any sort of mining from anywhere which has brought the stone crusher industry to a standstill. Not only stone crusher industry, but, the entire associated businesses, particularly construction, have been razed to ground, he said adding that millions to whom these businesses were rendering employment and were fully dependent on this industry for their livelihood have been left jobless and their families are forced to suffer. Randhawa said that on one hand the government is urging entrepreneurs to come and invest in the State at the sametime it is adopting anti-industry policies which are beyond imagination.
He urged upon the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Industries and Commerce to intervene and direct concerned authorities to immediately revoke this anti-industry SRO. Randhawa further said that there is an Act regarding the brick kiln industry and demanded similar Act under the name and style of Stone Crusher Industries Act (SCIA) which must be formulated with the due considerations of the SCOA.
He said that if the government intends to lease out mining to the contractors after constituting different mining blocks, we will welcome this step but demanded that J and K being under ‘Special Status’ i.e., Article 370, the blocks must be leased out to only State Subject holders.
Further, the stone crusher industry be kept out of the ambit of the contractors and a comprehensive plan be made so that the owners instead of playing in the hands of the contractors pay royalty directly to the Geology and Mining Department.
He also said that stone crusher units are playing a vital role in the development of the State as well as the nation and no development can be carried out without this industry and now the popular government is in place it must act immediately to save this vital industry and lessen the miseries of common people. Randhawa further said that a general body meet of the association will be convened on 10th April at Chib Resort, Raipur Satwari to discuss further course of action.
Those who were present include Anid Gaind, Subash Sharma, Dev Choudhary, Bakhriji and Beli Ram Sudan.
