Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi on Tuesday demanded for an inter-ministerial fact-finding team to visit Dibru Saikhowa Reserve Forest in Tinsukia district to check alleged illegal coal mining going on in the reserve forest.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha, Bordoloi, the Congress MP from Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency, said that huge chunk of money coming from the illegal coal mining are also going to the militant organisations.
“A lion’s share of money goes to the militant organisations like the NSCN-IM and NSCN-K. In fact, the district administration of Tinsukia is also working hand in glove with the coal mafia,” said Bordoloi.
Bordoloi, former Assam industries and commerce minister, also alleged that the superintendent of police (SP) and the deputy commissioner (DC) and even the forest officials of Tinsukia district are involved in the biggest ever scam in independent India.
“The Lido as well as Margharita police are keeping a blind eye towards the mater. If someone wants to lodge an FIR, they don’t entertain,” said the Congress MP.
In what may be an unprecedented illegal coal mining operation carried out by the coal syndicate, around 20,000 hectares of forest area in Tinsukia district have been destroyed due to rat hole mining since 2016 . It deeply pains me to see such rampant destruction of our forests pic.twitter.com/UFYvRUeCbz
— Pradyut Bordoloi (@pradyutbordoloi) June 26, 2019
Bordoloi, who was earlier elected for four consecutive times from Margherita Legislative Assembly under Tunsukia district, lost the last state Assembly polls held in 2016.
The parliamentarian said that scores of daily wage labourers die during the mining process.
“This is a big threat for ecology too,” said Bordoloi.