Illegal Stone Mining Mafia Runs Rampant in Assam's Sivasagar

Bihubar, which lies along the Assam-Nagaland border in the Nazira subdivision of Sivasagar district in Assam, is facing a serious crisis as illegal stone mining mafias are on a rampage, causing havoc to the environment and local lives. Exploiting the lack of enforcement by the Forest Department and police, the mafias have made the area a hub of illegal stone mining.

A section of the stone mafia has been allegedly taking advantage of loopholes for years by producing fake permits and bribing forest officials, police officers, and political leaders to carry on their illegal activities without any hindrance. Their operations have radically changed the geographical topography of the Dikhow River, an artery of the region. The uncontrolled mining has brought about rampant erosion and could change the course of the river at any time — a development that has kept Bihubar's residents wide awake and anxious about their future.

In addition, the mafias have intruded into Assam-Nagaland disputed areas, illegally extracting stone and causing tremendous revenue loss to Assam. According to reports, the mafias mark Assam's lands as belonging to Nagaland, employing this as a ruse to side-step regulations and avoid revenue payments to the government of Assam.

New investigations revealed the role of three major criminals — Riyaz Ali (Nanaki), Zakir Ali, and Gazi Khan — who have been running illicit stone mining activities by allegedly bribing officials from the Forest Department and police force. The fact that they could operate freely reflects the failure of the law and order apparatus and the governance mechanism in the region.

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