Hyderabad: Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) on Tuesday launched a crackdown on illegal mining, stone crushing and ready mix concrete (RMC) units in Rangareddy district, acting on complaints from Pollution Control Board (PCB), mining and revenue departments. They even dismantled heavy equipment at these units to prevent them from resuming operations.Among the units targeted during the drive was crusher unit Sree Tirumala Metal Industry at Kothwalguda, whose name surfaced in the recent controversy surrounding Raghava Constructions. The issue came into focus after BRS leader T Harish Rao alleged in the assembly that Raghava Constructions was carrying out mining activity on 17 acres of govt land without environmental, mining or PCB clearances.However, in a letter on March 30 to the mines and geology department, Raghava Constructions (India) Pvt Ltd clarified that while the crusher unit at Kothwalguda belonged to the company, it was leased to Sree Tirumala Metal Industry, which was independently carrying out the crushing operations. The company further stated that the electricity connection at the site was registered in the name of P Mallikarjun Kumar, proprietor of Sree Tirumala Metal Industry.Raghava Constructions maintained that it was only procuring crushed stone aggregates from the unit for its Hyderabad Road Development Corporation Limited (HRDCL) projects and had no role in quarrying, mining or operating the crusher facility.“For us, it is an illegal operation that was carried out. It does not matter who owns the unit,” HYDRAA commissioner AV Ranganath said, adding that machinery at the site was also dismantled to prevent future crushing operations.According to officials, the action covered units in Gowlidoddi, Vattinagulapally, Gopanpally and Kothwalguda (Shamshabad) linked to Bhagat Singh Stone Crusher, SVK, Parameshwar Stone, Prithvi, Great India Mining, R Miller and Tirumala Metal Industries, along with RMC plants belonging to BSR, Ultratech and ACC.HYDRAA also dismantled eight stone crushing units and three out of 13 RMC plants functioning without permissions. Officials said the remaining 10 RMC plants would also be removed.Officials said the action was taken within the Outer Ring Road (ORR) limits after repeated warnings by the mining department and PCB were allegedly ignored by the operators. The departments sought HYDRAA’s assistance to permanently dismantle the units.“The illegal mining and crushing activities were also backed by influential individuals and major firms. They were causing massive environmental damage and resulting in the loss of hundreds of crores in revenue to the exchequer,” the commissioner added.
