Title - Digging of railway tracks: CBI to summon former Nagaur collectors, SPs

The CBI will soon issue notices to 19 IAS and 25 IPS officers who were posted as district collector and SP in Nagaur district over the past 25 years for allegedly ignoring repeated complaints of illegal marble mining in Makrana. Some of these officers have retired. However, the agency will question them on how the mining continued in Makrana despite several written requests to stop it by the railways.

The CBI had lodged 18 FIRs a week ago after launching an investigation into the illegal marble mining in Makrana on the instructions of Rajasthan High Court. The petition had been filed by the railways with an argument that any mining activity is prohibited within 45 meters of the railway tracks since 1986.

""A CBI team visited these mines along the Jodhpur-Jaipur and Parabatsar-Makrana railway tracks. The tracks connecting Parabatsar and Makrana had been completely destroyed by the miners who dug up the tracks," a senior CBI officer told TOI.

"According to railway officials, illegal mining continued in Makrana despite making several requests to every IPS and IAS officer who was deputed as SP and district collector in Nagaur district to stop the mining over the past 25 years. However, no one bothered to pay attention to it.

The officer said that even the railways had approached the Rajasthan High Court in 1996 requesting it to order a ban on mining. "Despite the petition and the subsequent stay by the court on mining, the practice continued. It comes as a gross negligence and dereliction of duty. We will even probe if corruption played any role in this," said the officer.

The officer said the movement of trains on Parabatsar-Makrana route had to be stopped owing to digging. "It could not have happened without the knowledge of local police, mining department and RPF officials. So apart from identifying illegal miners in the FIR, we have lodged cases against unidentified police, railway and mining department officials," said the officer.