Srinagar, April 07 (KNS): Apni Party District President Anantnag and former MLA Abdul Rahim Rather on wednesday met with Regional Director Geology and Mining Nisar Ahmad Khawaja at Srinagar.

As per the statement issued to kashmir news service (KNS),In the meeting, Party leader Abdul Rahim Rather apprised the Regional Director Nisar Ahmad Khawaja about the serious implications of the current Geology and Mining policy on the general public.

He further stressed that the policy is regressive in nature which is impeding multiple developmental projects across J&K alongwith causing immense inconvenience to the people who require the construction material for various residential and commercial purposes.

“The people have to pay sky-rocketed prices for aggregate, sand and gravel. The policy in vogue is detrimental to progress. However, in the meantime the extraction mafia is exploiting the current situation without any check from the administration. The government, especially the Geology and Mining Department, must review this anti-people policy,” Rather urged.

He said that thousands of families who are directly or indirectly related with the mineral mining have been bearing the brunt of this policy. The government must ensure that their right to earn for their families is safeguarded.

In addition to that, Rather demanded that while chalking out the new mineral mining policy the government and the concerned department must ensure that the rights of the native people of J&K are safeguarded and special reservations for extraction is delivered to the people connected with mining.

“There are families who since ages have been related to the mining business. Thus, it is an incumbency of the Government to ensure that the rights of this section of our society are protected in line with the Himachal Pradesh mining policy wherein special reservations are granted to the natives. The same model must be adopted by the current UT government of J&K,” he demanded.

Listening to the various public grievances raised by Apni Party Leader Abdul Rahim Rather, the regional director Geology and Mining Nisar Ahmad Khawaja assured that aforementioned concerns shall be accorded a positive consideration and apposite actions shall be taken in this regard.(KNS)