more-inTo crack down on illegal mining and tax evasion by miners, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday ordered the setting up of special multi-department teams, headed by the respective Deputy Commissioners, in all the districts of the State. “The teams would comprise officials from taxation, mining, revenue and police departments,” said an official statement, adding that the teams would be mandated to set up “nakas” to check illegal mining and evasion of taxes. Pointing out that illegal mining and tax evasion had led to heavy losses for the State exchequer and needed to be checked on priority, Capt. The Chief Minister also ordered increased vigil on stone crushers, which are located in Rupnagar, SAS Nagar and Pathankot districts, after a review of the Mining Department during a meeting of the Sub-Committee on Finance. “To streamline the functioning of the Mining Department, the meeting also held discussions on a proposal to set up a new mining department, with manpower to be drawn in from various related departments.”

Source: The Hindu February 06, 2018 01:23 UTC