Kathmandu February 6.

The District Monitoring Committee has drawn a conclusion that most of the crusher industries are being illegally operated in Jhapa. In keeping with the conclusion, efforts are also being initiated to immediately shut such industries. The district monitoring and coordination committee headed by Jhapa District Coordination Committee Chief Somnath Portel had made onsite monitoring of 27 crusher and sand processing industries being operational in the district. Organizing a press conference at Chandragadhi on Wednesday, the committee shared that there has been no registration and renewal of crusher and sand processing industry since 2072 BS. “These industries have also not maintained transaction details”, the committee added. In this connection, monitoring committee coordinator Portel drew serious attention of the federal and provincial governments for the evasion of tax by these industries. The monitoring team found that seven industries are in operation with license; five licensed industries are not operational and three are running pebble and sand crusher industries by only having license for sand processing. The committee has directed the industry owners to immediately stop its operation in Buddhashanti for not carrying out environment impact assessment. It also instructed to auction the pebbles and sands worth amounting to tens of billions rupees which the smugglers have illegally piled up in Mechinagar-1, Tiring within 15 days