Our Correspondent
KOHAT: A high-level meeting was held under the chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner Kohat Rahimullah Mehsud at his office to devise a comprehensive strategy for the prevention of illegal mining activities, particularly illegal extraction of the placer gold on Tuesday.
The meeting beside others, was also attended by the Additional Deputy Commissioner (G), Officers of the district administration, police, Minerals, Forest and other relevant departments and institutions.
The departments concerned, briefed the meeting in detail on illegal mining activities in the district and told that it causing severe damage to the environment, including soil erosion, water contamination and deforestation, besides resulting insignificant losses to the national resources.
Deputy Commissioner Kohat directed that, in line with the decision of the Provincial Cabinet, strict implementation of the ban imposed under Section 144 Cr.P.C against the illegal mining must be ensured. He emphasized that strict and immediate legal action should be taken against all those involved in illegal mining. He further directed that joint teams of the administration and police should conduct regular patrolling and maintain strict vigilance at sensitive locations.
Deputy Commissioner also directed the Minerals Department and other concerned agencies to play an active role in the field and submit reports to the DC office on a regular basis. He stressed the need to launch a public awareness campaign to inform the people that illegal mining is a punishable offense that not only damages national resources but also has negative impacts on the environment and the society.
He further directed that all institutions should take coordinated and joint measures to ensure a permanent solution to the problem of illegal mining. He stressed for close coordination of all the departments with the district administration and submit weekly progress reports for regular review.
