The Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir, Mr. Surinder Chowdhary, who also holds the portfolio of the Mining Department, informed the Legislative Assembly on Saturday that a penalty of Rs 80 lakh had been imposed on the private construction company M/S NKC Projects Pvt Ltd for unauthorized riverbed mining in Budgam district.
This issue came into focus when the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Khansahib, Budgam, Mr. Saifudin Bhat, sought the attention of the House and asked the Deputy CM to respond. While highlighting the illegal riverbed mining taking place in the Shali Ganga stream in Basantwodder village of the Khansahib Assembly segment, the MLA stated that heavy machinery had been brought into the stream around ten days ago by the construction company (NKC) without any clearance from the Mining Department, Revenue Department, or Forest authorities. He informed the House that villagers from Basantwodder, Lanilabb, Draggar, and adjoining areas were protesting, yet no action had been taken against the company.
In response to Mr. Saifudin Bhat’s speech, the Deputy Chief Minister stated that the District Mineral Officer (DMO) Budgam had taken strict action against M/S NKC Projects Private Limited for unauthorized mining of boulders, gravel, and sand at the Shali Ganga stream around Lanilab-Basant Wooder in the Khansahib area of Budgam. He further added that action was taken after a video went viral on social media on March 2, 2025, which was later confirmed to be true by field officials when DMO Budgam deputed a team to the site to verify the claims.
“Upon investigation, it was confirmed that the company had engaged men and machinery for the unauthorized extraction of approximately 300 metric tons of Nallah Mukh without obtaining the necessary permits,” the Mining Minister/Deputy CM informed the House.
Misleading Information
The Deputy CM further told the Assembly that a formal notice had been issued to the Project Manager of M/S NKC Projects Pvt Ltd on March 3, 2025, directing the immediate cessation of all illegal mining activities and demanding the submission of relevant documentation. He also stated that the machinery used in the mining operation had been seized. A detailed news report on this matter was published by PTI and was subsequently carried by all the leading newspapers in J&K, including Kashmir Observer.
As someone who has been closely following illegal riverbed mining cases and has already filed cases regarding them before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for the protection of the Shali Ganga, Doodh Ganga, Sukhnag, Romshi, Sasra, and Badyari streams in Budgam, Pulwama, and Baramulla districts, I disagree with the information provided by the Geology and Mining Department to the Deputy CM. The Range Officer of the Raithan Forest Range, SDPO Khansahib, and the DMO had made written communications on this issue. However, as per my personal investigation, this seems to have been mere paperwork as the loot seems to have continued on the ground. The discrepancies and information provided by sources approached by me on the issue, necessitates a fair investigation to gauge the involvement of government officials in it.
I’ve also been provided GPS data dated March 6, 2025 to substantiate my claims.
This requires urgent investigation, and the Deputy CM must take action .
Illegal Mining by NKC?
NKC Projects Pvt Ltd, a Haryana-based construction company, has been allotted the construction of the Srinagar Semi Ring Road project, with an estimated cost of Rs 3,000 crores. This 62-km-long highway starts at Pampore Galandar and ends at Ganderbal via Narbal. The Detailed Project Report (DPR) for this project has not been made public, and people remain unaware of the designated locations from which the company was supposed to source riverbed materials such as sand, boulders, gravel, Nallah muck, and clay for earth-filling.
Initially, the company mined the Shali Ganga in the Panzan-Lalgam area of Budgam, violating the environmental clearance granted to it. After extracting the material from Shali Ganga, NKC’s dumpers and trucks unloaded it at a nearby location in Gudsathoo village, just one kilometer from Panzan. The company had even set up a makeshift office and warehouse in Gudsathoo for material processing.
The NGT, in a 212-page judgment on my petition, directed the company to stop work in September 2022. Prior to this, an interim order had already been issued to halt the mining activities.
After being ordered to stop mining in the Panzan area of Shali Ganga, M/S NKC Projects Pvt Ltd moved to loot the Sukhnag stream in the Beerwah area, about 30 km away. The Geology and Mining Department never leased out mining in Sukhnag, nor was any e-auction conducted, as required by law. Sukhnag, a trout fish stream, is ecologically fragile. Without consulting the State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) or the Fisheries Department, the Geology and Mining Department granted them unofficial permission based on a recommendation from the Deputy Commissioner of Budgam.
For three years, NKC looted Sukhnag at multiple locations, such as Kangripora, Sail, and Kanigund villages. This not only resulted in environmental degradation but also caused massive financial losses to the state exchequer.
Every day, around 200 trucks and dumpers transported riverbed material to the processing and stone-crushing site at Gudsathoo-Panzan, continuing this loot for over three years. The illegal work was finally halted on December 26, 2024, when a high-level team, acting on National Green Tribunal orders, visited the site. This team included senior officers from the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC), the Central Pollution Control Board, J&K Fisheries, and the J&K Pollution Control Committee.
Subsequently, NGT passed a formal order on January 15, 2025, instructing that all mining work be stopped. The Deputy Commissioner of Budgam has also been summoned by NGT for the next hearing in April.
Conclusion
The Deputy CM, Mr. Surinder Chowdhary, stated that an Rs 80 lakh penalty had been imposed on NKC. However, considering the massive environmental and financial damage caused by this company over the past four years, this penalty is negligible. The actual loss to the state exchequer is estimated at Rs 3,000 crores or more, and only a fraction of that amount has been recovered.
The government must take strict action against this company, blacklist it in J&K, and order an independent investigation—either by the CBI or a commission of two retired High Court judges—to be completed within six months.
- Views expressed in the article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the editorial stance of Kashmir Observer. Information provided in the article is based on news reports as well as the author’s own investigation as a petitioner in the case.
