Congress alleges ₹5K-cr mining scam in Haryana

CHANDIGARH: The Haryana Congress on Saturday alleged that a “mining scam” of ~5,000 crore had taken place during the previous Bjp-led government in the state and demanded a probe by a sitting high court judge.

The main opposition party in the state also alleged that the illegal mining, which was the result of the “nexus” between Manohar Lal Khattar-led regime and the mining mafia, not only caused loss to the state exchequer but also damaged environment.

Senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala highlighted a Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) report that was tabled recently in the state assembly and claimed that this report “exposed” the Khattar government’s attitude of turning a “blind eye” towards illegal mining and not recovering the dues from the mining contractors.

According to the CAG report till March 31, 2018, the Khattar government did not recover ~1,476.21 crore from the mining contractors, he claimed.

State Congress chief Kumari Selja said,“without information of the government or connivance, can such a thing happen?”

Haryana mines and geology minister Mool Chand Sharma said he was aware of the issue. “The government would carry out a thorough and responsible investigation into the matter.”