Gadchiroli Feb. 5 (District correspondent) Alleging that a contractor has been illegally transporting sand from the river and causing loss to the farmers in the area, the residents of village Sakhra near here have demanded stringent action against the said contractor and immediate seizure of the dumped sand. They have also demanded action against the government officials neglecting this day light theft of the government property even after repeated complaints by the villagers.
Addressing a press conference at the Press Club here this afternoon along with the villagers, Mr. Punyawan Sorte, Sarpancha of Sakhra Gram Panchayat told that the village panchayat had given no objection to the contractor one Kisan Motwani from Desaiganj for excavating the sand from 2’90 hectares of land in survey number 518 in the year 2021-22. However, even after expiry of the period of excavation, the said contractor continued to excavate the sand and transport it in large scale without obtaining any NOC from the village panchayat.
Due to this transportation by heavy vehicles, the nearby farmers were suffering. The matter was complained to the Revenue department authorities several times, but no any action has been taken against the contractor nor his excavation activity has been stopped, told Mr. Sorte.
Not only this, a vehicle of the contractor filled with sand that was illegally excavated from the river was caught red handed by the villagers in presence of the Talathi on February 3 last. The said vehicle (number MH33-T3772) was then seized by the Talathi and kept in the premises of the Tehsil office, Gadchiroli. However, the vehicle was released the very next day, which shows the nexus between the contractor and the authorities, Sorte alleged.
A stringent action should therefore be taken against the contractor, the sand excavated by him should be confiscated and the officials neglecting towards the illegal act should also be dealt with severely, he demanded.
Also present at the press conference were Ms. Neeta Sakhre, ex ZP councillor, Dinesh Chaudhari, Umakant Hulke, Ranjana Bhaisare, Jaymala Meshram (all members of village panchayat) Yashwant Chaudhari, Sadashiv Chaudhari, Anandrao Gaikwad, Pundalik Zarkar, Sudhakar Doijad, Narendra Walde, Manoj Bhoyar and other villagers and farmers.
