Modified tippers can’t carry mined material in Una district

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, July 21

District Magistrate, Una, Raghav Sharma has banned modified tippers and multi-axle trucks and trailers from carrying mined material in the district.

In the orders issued here today, the District Magistrate stated that the Regional Transport Officer (RTO), Una, in his recommendations to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had stated that modified tippers were being used for transporting mined material. These overloaded vehicles could lose balance and cause accidents. The RTO had also stated that the vehicles were carrying mined material uncovered in violation of the NGT orders.

Sharma ordered that in view of the recommendations of the RTO, the movement of tippers with modified bodies and multi-axle trucks and trailers had been banned in Una district.

He told The Tribune that they had received complaints from villagers also that roads were being damaged due to overloaded vehicles carrying mined material. The decision would also help in checking illegal mining, he said.

Una has become the first district in the state to ban the plying of modified tippers and multi-axle trucks and trailers carrying mined material.

As per information, generally tippers that carry mined material are passed for carrying 16 tonnes or 24 tonnes of mined material. However, the owners of tippers add additional bodies to the tippers so that they could carry extra load. The tippers going out of the state usually carry 35 tonnes to 40 tonnes load of sand and gravel. More material is carried in tippers to reduce the transportation cost and improve profits.

The stone crusher owners of Una district have been on strike since July 1 demanding that they be allowed mechanical mining with 80 BhP machines in approved areas. They have also been alleging harassment at the hands of the officials due to old laws that permit mining with shovels only.

As mining on riverbeds in the state is banned till September 15 due to the monsoons, most of the sand and gravel is coming to the state from Punjab. However, with the District Magistrate banning multi-axle trucks and trailers and modified tippers from carrying mined material, the supplies from Punjab are likely to dry up in the coming days. The supplies of mined material from Punjab would be allowed only in tractor-traillers now, sources said.

They said that the decision was likely to increase the cost of construction material. Already most of the development projects both in government and private sectors have come to a standstill due to the non-availability of sand and gravel.

Can lose balance, cause accidents

• The DM has stated that the RTO in his recommendations to the NGT had said that modified tippers being used to transport mined material could lose balance and cause accidents
• The vehicles carried mined material uncovered in violation of the NGT orders
• The DM has ordered that in view of these recommendations, the movement of tippers with modified bodies and multi-axle trucks and trailers is banned in Una district