Following the directives of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the administration has started monitoring illegal crusher industries in Lumbini Province. Major construction projects have been affected by the shortage of gravel and sand as crusher manufacturers have stopped production due to fear of action.
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After the Home Ministry directed the immediate closure of illegal crusher industries operating in Lumbini Province, crusher industries operating in various districts have stopped production. Most of the crusher industries in Lumbini have been operating without renewal for a long time. The Home Ministry has ordered the closure of registered industries after they were not operating according to standards. Most of the crusher industries operating in Lumbini are registered in the name of sand processing centers. Although registered in the name of sand processing, all the industries have been producing ballast, so the operators have closed the industries without receiving instructions from the administration for fear of action. The industries operating in Lumbini purchase river-based materials after obtaining permission from the local level for certain results and process them in the industry and sell them. However, the Home Ministry has initiated the process of regulating them since they purchase from the local level at low rates and produce materials by illegally excavating nearby rivers.
Deepak Kumar Acharya, an officer of the Peace, Security and Crime Control Branch of the Ministry of Home Affairs, had addressed all 12 district administration offices of Lumbini Province on Chaitra 17 and directed them to immediately close down the illegally operating crusher industries. The letter states that ‘The Council of Genji Lumbini’ has demanded the Home Ministry to close the crushers. After the Home Ministry’s directive, all the Chief District Officers of Lumbini have started collecting details of the illegal crusher industries in the district through the local level and police, and most of them have closed down. In the first phase, the Chief District Officers are collecting details of whether the crusher industries are operating, and if they are operating, their registration and operators.
According to Gopal Gyawali, Chairman of the Lumbini Gravel and Stone Entrepreneurs Committee, there are around 120 crusher industries operating in the 6 districts of the Terai region of Lumbini Province. There are temporary industries in the name of construction projects in the hilly districts of Pyuthan, Arghakhanchi, and Gulmi. According to him, the highest number of industries were operating in Dang with 45, Rupandehi with 34, Kapilvastu with 22, Banke with 12 and Nawalparasi with 5.
He said that many industries had stopped production after the ministry's instructions and the supervision of the district administration. 'Most of those industries were registered with the then Cottage and Small Industries Development Committee according to the old standards before 2065,' he said. 'It cannot be said that they were illegal after being registered under the Ministry of Industries, but they could not be renewed because they did not meet the standards.' He said that when the industries stopped production due to fear of action after there was no instruction to close, there was a shortage of construction materials.
After many crusher industries were operating illegally, the government amended the Stone, Gravel, Sand Excavation and Management Standards 2077 on Jestha 6, 2079. The revised standards had reduced the distance to be maintained from rivers or river banks, paved bridges, highway 'right of way', historical lakes, ponds, reservoirs, densely populated areas, forests, parks, reserves, international borders, educational institutions, places of religious, historical, archaeological importance and security agency offices.
The new standards have been amended to allow the extraction of riverine products within 1 kilometer from densely populated areas in the Terai and 500 meters from the hills to operate crusher industries within 500 meters from the highway and 200 meters from the hills in the Terai region. Earlier, crushers were not allowed to operate within 2 kilometers from the forest, but this has been reduced to 500 meters. The new standards had paved the way for the operation of crusher industries within 300 meters from the highway, 200 meters from the river bank and 500 meters from the bridge. However, many crusher industries have not met this standard either.
Therefore, the Chief District Officers are preparing to take further steps after studying the latest standards, registration and operation details. Dang Chief District Officer Bishwaprakash Aryal said that work is underway to study the crusher industries across the district and discuss what to do. According to him, there are 16 crusher industries and 17 processing centers in Dang. 'Looking at the details of many of them, it was seen that they were registered and operating according to the then law, but they did not meet the latest standards,' he said. 'Since there is no mention in the letter about what to do in their case, it is still under discussion and discussions are being held with other districts.' He said that since many industries have not even renewed, they cannot be called legitimate.
Many industries in Lumbini have stopped production after the orders of the Home Ministry and the supervision of the Chief District Officers. After the closure of the industries, there has been a shortage of construction materials in large projects. The construction of the Lumbini Provincial Hospital, which is considered the pride project of the provincial government, has been affected. The project has reported a shortage of ballast and sand while preparing the slope of the fourth floor of the 12-story building. The project's construction contractor, Sher Bahadur KC, said that they have run out of ballast and sand. 'We are preparing to start the construction of the fourth floor,' he said, 'but, we have not received the ballast and sand as required.' He said that the slope of the fourth floor, which is under preparation, cannot be completed without the materials.
Similarly, there has been a shortage of materials in the Butwal-Gorusinge road section of the Butwal-Chandrauta road. The project, which mobilized up to 1,500 workers daily, has now hired only 300 workers due to a shortage of materials, said project chief engineer Kulshata Neupane. "There is a major shortage of riverine materials and soil," she said. "Construction contractors have informed us that they have not been able to get the materials from anywhere."
Although the project has an agreement with the local government to bring the materials, she said that despite support from the local level of Kapilvastu, there has been no support from the Butwal Sub-metropolitan City in providing the materials.
