MP’s speech in Lok Sabha puts U’khand govt in a spot

New Delhi: Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, while participating in Lok Sabha proceedings on Thursday, put his own party’s government in a dock by raising concerns over illegal mining in the hill state that was posing a “threat to law and order and ecology.”

“In Uttarakhand’s Dehradun, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar, and Nainital, illegal mining is getting rampant at night. This is not only a threat to law and order and ecology but also the safety of common people. Despite orders from the state and central governments, we are witnessing a mining mafia transporting materials in trucks at night. This is affecting the roads, bridges, and other facilities,” Rawat said during the Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha.

Rawat, who served as the Uttarakhand CM between 2017 to 2012.

Urging the Pushkar Singh Dhami government to take immediate action against “illegal mining at night”, Rawat said the state should constitute a task force to “crack down on such trucks at night and take strict action against the mining mafia.”

The state government in Dehradun on Friday however, issued a statement denying allegations.