Pune: Pimpri Chinchwad Builder Fined Over Rs 9.5 Crore for Exceeding Mining Limits; Alleges Blackmail
Reported By Varad Bhatkhande
Pimpri Chinchwad, 10th August 2024: Jitendra Sonigara, a partner of Grow India Residency Private Limited, has been issued a penalty notice of more than Rs. 9.50 crore in connection with the illegal mining of secondary minerals beyond the permitted limit for the Sonigara The Mark project in Pimpri Chinchwad. Pimpri-Chinchwad Additional Tehsildar Jayraj Deshmukh has ordered the immediate payment of this fine.
In Chinchwad, the project ‘Sonigara The Mark’ has been undertaken by Jitendra Panraj Sonigara and his partners on behalf of Grow India Residency Private Limited. For this project, they mined 32,628.30 brass, out of which 2,767.53 brass has been kept in stock. The company had a temporary license to mine and transport only 10,500 brass. (1 brass = 100 sq ft.)
However, complaints were filed with the Pimpri-Chinchwad Tehsil Office, alleging that they had mined more minerals than permitted. These complaints were made by Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi and Apna Watan Organisation through their lawyers.
Additional Tehsildar Jairaj Deshmukh took note of these complaints, conducted an inspection, and held a hearing on the matter. Additionally, seven permits for 13,600 brass, which were pending hearing, were not considered. Accurate enumeration was carried out by the Tehsil Office through ETS, revealing that the company had illegally mined 19,360.76 brass of minerals such as soil and murum.
In Pimpri Chinchwad, a fine of Rs. 964 per brass has been fixed for soil and murum. However, in this case, a five-time penalty of the usual rate of Rs. 4,820 per brass has been applied. Hence, a total fine of Rs. 9,33,18,887, along with a royalty of Rs. 34,56,459, amounting to Rs. 9,67,75,346, has been imposed on Grow India Residency Private Limited, including Jitendra Sonigara and others. The order mandates that this penalty be deposited with the government immediately.
Regarding this, when contacted for his side of the story, Jitendra Sonigara told Punekar News, “The royalty has been duly paid. The complainants came to us asking for money; they are blackmailers. But we did not pay them any attention. They are doing this to every builder in Pimpri Chinchwad. A legal reply will be given to the notice. We will cooperate with the administration.”
