Durga Nagpal's classmate nearly killed for taking on sand mafia // Tamil Nadu bureaucrat transferred for crackdown on illegal sand mining

Solan: A bureaucrat in Himachal Pradesh was nearly killed allegedly by the illegal sand mining mafia in the Solan district, 45 km from state capital of Shimla.

Yunus Khan, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Nalagarh, is from the same batch of IAS officers as Durga Shakti Nagpal, whose suspension by the Uttar Pradesh government has generated a national debate on the need to protect honest officers from political interference and vendetta. That point was also made forcefully a few days ago in a letter from Congress President Sonia Gandhi to the Prime Minister. She cited Ms Nagpal's case.

Mr Khan was trying to impound a vehicle on Wednesday with illegally-mined sand on Wednesday with the help of his staff when the driver tried to hit his car, in an attempt to force it over a bridge. Not once, but four times. When the tractor-trolley, piled with illegally excavated sand and gravel toppled over, the driver ran away.  He was later arrested, said the police.

"We heard the mafia was trying to excavate forest land," Mr Khan told NDTV.  He said that the illegal mining in Himachal Pradesh is ordered by stake-holders from Punjab and Haryana. "Our ecology is disturbed by the illegal mining.  My concern is to uphold the law and prevent this," he said. Of his classmate, Ms Nagpal, whose case has generated headlines for weeks, Mr Khan said, "She is a good officer but we don't usually discuss work."

Ms Nagpal, 28, was suspended from her office in Greater Noida, on charges that she endangered communal harmony by ordering the demolition of the wall of a new mosque being built without permission on public land. The UP government headed by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has denounced allegations that it was her campaign to stop illegal sand mining that resulted in the action against her.
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/durga-shakti-nagpal-s-classmate-attacked-nearly-killed-for-taking-on-sand-mafia-403170?pfrom=home-otherstories

Tamil Nadu bureaucrat on his transfer over crackdown on illegal sand mining
Ashish Kumar, who was the District Collector of Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu till two days ago, was handed his transfer order on Tuesday evening. Earlier that day, he had conducted raids on mineral quarries owned by local mining barons in two villages in the district. Hundreds of kilometres away from Uttar Pradesh, where a young IAS officer who went after the sand mafia, Durga Shakti Nagpal, was controversially suspended, Mr Kumar told NDTV that illegal sand mining is rampant in Tuticorin.

He alleged that one of the mining companies he raided, VV Minerals, owned by an exporter called V Vaikundarajan, was illegally mining sand on nearly 30 hectares of government land in a village called Vaipar, though their lease allowed mining only on four hectares. Mr Vaikundarajan, say sources, is a businessman with political connections in high places. In Vembar, the other village he raided, the official said, "There was extensive mining but the remaining sand was never returned to its place to replenish, causing environmental damage."  The raids were conducted after several complaints by local fisherman, he said. 

Mr Kumar alleges that the sand mafia across India works in a close nexus with politicians. "Even in Tuticorin, there have been visible instances of such mutual cooperation and understanding." Much like Durga Shakti Nagpal's suspension in UP, Mr Kumar's transfer has caused a storm in Tamil Nadu. Opposition parties slammed the AIADMK government of J Jayalalithaa, condemning the transfer. Leader of Opposition Vijayakanth of the DMDK demanded in a statement that the Centre intervene "so that the Indian Administrative Service officials can perform their functions impartially." 

The opposition wants Mr Kumar's transfer stopped. But the 2005-batch IAS officer has already handed over charge in Tuticorin and is getting ready to take over as Deputy Secretary in the state's Department of Social Welfare and Nutritious Meal Programme.  He says he views transfers positively but admits that he did not expect to be posted outright now. "As an officer, I have to obey government orders and work well. I hope they will take action on my report," he said. Mr Kumar served as the Collector of Tuticorin
http://www.ndtv.com/article/south/did-not-expect-to-be-posted-outright-now-tamil-nadu-bureaucrat-on-his-transfer-over-crackdown-on-ill-403052?pfrom=home-health