Nagpur: In a joint operation, police, Regional Transport Office (RTO) and tehsil office cracked down on the
sand mafia and detained 13 trucks ferrying sand illegally on Friday morning near Dighori Naka. The drivers of two trucks reportedly fled the spot along with the vehicle keys, while the other drivers were arrested.
Trucks are said to be rampantly transporting sand illegally, raising questions about the functioning of mining department in district collectorate. “It is the duty of the mining department to monitor excavation of sand from ghats,” said sources. However, the department seems to be turning a blind eye to the activities.
The special squad of Zonal DCP Nilesh Bharne, along with squad of Hudkeshwar police, intercepted the trucks and then informed RTO and tehsil office, who rushed to the spot to investigate the matter.
RTO Nagpur city inspector Shyam Kasar said, “We have detained 11 trucks, of which six were overloaded. The others failed to produce documents. We will act against all the truck owners.” The six overloaded trucks will be fined Rs 70,000 on average, while the others will be fined as per the irregularities in their documents.
“If the trucks owners want to pay the fine, they can approach us, or go to court in this regard. Meanwhile, we are also demanding no objection certificates from the revenue department before releasing the trucks,” said Kasar.
Each 10-wheeler truck is allowed to carry 28 tonne load, but the six detained trucks were carrying more than this limit.
Tehsildar (Nagpur rural) Mohan Tikale said, “Among the detained trucks, three had paid proper government royalty. However, the others had a time difference on their Transport Permit (TP), which is why we will be sending the details of their TPs to the respective ghat officials from where they loaded the sand.”
“After verification of TPs and documents of royalty, we will take further action against the truck owners. If they are found guilty, Rs2 lakh per truck fine will be imposed on them as per government resolution,” said Tikale.
Tehsil office will also send a letter to the police department after the verification of documents. Senior PI of Hudkeshwar police station said, “We will act after the revenue department gives us documents implicating the accused.”
