MCOCA against sand mafia: Thorat

Maharashtra revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat on Monday announced in the legislative council that the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), commonly used against the gangsters and terrorists, would be invoked against those involved in illegal sand mining.
The issue of illegal sand mining in the state was raised by NCP MLC Hemant Takle and others in the legislative council during the question hour.
Replying to the question, Mr Thorat said, “The government is concerned about illegal sand dredging and a stringent law such as MCOCA will be invoked wherever necessary.”
Initially, the minister said that the issue comes under the purview of the home department and “appropriate decision will be taken” after holding discussions with the concerned officials. However, legislators from Shiv Sena and BJP, including Oppos-ition leader Vinod Tawde, took an aggressive stand on the issue and demanded a concrete answer from the government.
Deputy chairman of state legislative council Vasant Davkhare also said that sand dredging was a lucrative business and an “organised crime”, and the culprits should be booked under MCOCA.
Senior Shiv Sena MLC Ramdas Kadam alleged that sand mafia also get political patronage. He said, “Sand dredging has been banned in Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts. As a result, development work is being hampered. Officials demand bribe of lakhs of rupees to allow dredging and only those close to ministers get permissions. Since the supply is less than the demand, there has been an increase in illegal dredging. In many cases, these sand mafias have even attacked government officers.”
Later, Mr Thorat admitted that there had been incidents where sand mafia had attacked government officers. “The revenue department and the home department will work out a solution to this problem,” he said.

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