Acrimonious scenes during Himachal Assembly winter session as BJP stages walkout over ‘selective’ closure of stone crushers
The Newz Radar
DHARAMSHALA: Acrimonious scenes were witnessed in the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha at Tapovan in Dharamshala on the second day of the winter session as the opposition BJP staged a walkout over the allegedly selective closure of stone crushers in the Beas basin.
The first question in this regard was asked by Sulah BJP MLA Vipin Singh Parmar during the question hour. He asked why only three districts were “targeted” in the matter of closing stone crushers. On this, Industries Minister Harshvardhan Chauhan said that there was a lot of damage around Beas river and its tributaries. He said that this was a “normal process”.
Chauhan said the closures was a “normal process”, revealing that approximately 80 illegal crushers had already been cancelled by a specially formed high-powered committee. He clarified that the closures were not arbitrary, emphasising the irregularities in the installation of these crushers.
Some crushers, he maintained, were already in the process of being reinstated after completing necessary legal procedures. The Minister acknowledged the complexity of the issue, singling out crushers associated with specific projects as a particular challenge.
Addressing concerns of revenue loss, Chauhan reassured the Assembly that the government had not suffered financially. He revealed that the state had received revenue amounting to Rs 242 crore in the financial year 2022-23, and an additional Rs 204 crore had been generated by December 15, 2023, indicating an upward trajectory from the previous year.
In a supplementary question, BJP MLA Bikram Singh expressed concern over the closure of 112 crushers, leading to a threefold increase in the rates of sand and gravel and causing unemployment in the Kangra region. Bikram Singh questioned the rationale behind sparing Solan and Sirmaur from such closures, challenging assertions of no revenue loss. The debate highlighted the economic and social ramifications of the stone crusher closures, adding urgency to finding a balanced resolution.
