Farmers need no permission for soil mining, says Uttar Pradesh govt

Farmers in Uttar Pradesh no longer need permission for soil mining The decision has been taken in view of complaints from farmers regarding extortion and harassment in this regard the State government said in a statement on SundayIt is noteworthy that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had recently expressed his dissatisfaction and had also given strict instructions to officers to take stern action against those harassing farmers and engaged in soil miningThe step has been taken in response to the complaints from farmers in various districts of the state after the Chief Minister had abolished the royalty on general soil mining to prevent harassment of farmers and illegal extortion for private use from their own fieldsThe said instructions have been issued to the concerned departments district administration and police departmentDr Roshan Jacob Secretary of the Department of Geology and Mining said Following the directions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath the royalty on general soil mining had been reduced to zero Consequently the requirement for farmers to obtain permission from the department for soil mining for their private use has also been eliminatedShe further stated that changes have been made in the rules to ensure transparency in soil mining and the Mine Mitra Portal has been launched for this purpose Farmers are now required to apply for soil mining up to a depth of 100 cubic meters solely through the Mine Mitra portal After registration mining and transportation are automatically authorizedThis information has also been conveyed to the district administration and the police department Despite the registration on the Mine Mitra Portal local police have been refusing to acknowledge it and have been harassing farmers In response the Secretary of the Department of Geology and Mining issued explicit orders stating that the local police and Dial UP 112 police personnel must obtain permission from the District Magistrate and be present for the inspection of any legalillegal transportation of soil or sand Additionally several other instructions have been issued by the department to ensure transparencyAs per the Chief Ministers instructions the marking and demarcation of gates for approved areas for soil mining should be done correctly Additionally signboards should be installed indicating the boundaries It should be ensured that mining is carried out as per the departmental demand issued by the responsible agencies such as Public Works Department Irrigation Department Rural Engineering Department and Development AuthorityMunicipal BodySimilarly it is necessary to mention the quantity in the work order issued by the executing agencies for the supply of ordinary soil Moreover the supply of ordinary soil should be done only at the specified location mentioned in the transport permitFarmers can apply on the Mine Mitra portal for miningtransportation of ordinary soil from their own land for personal use Prior to registration farmers will need to create a login by providing their name address and mobile number After logging in the form will be displayed which must be filled with the applicants name mobile number the quantity of ordinary soil as per land records the purpose of mining and complete details of the applied mining area including district tehsil village plot number and destination locationIt is mandatory to fill in the information mentioned in point number three and submit the application Subsequently the farmer will receive the selfgenerated registration certificate from the portal The registration certificate will be considered valid as the transport permit and the validity of the certificate will be two weeksWith ANI inputs