As a part of Vadodara District Administration and under the guidance of the District Collector, the Mines and Minerals Branch is functioning. In two separate incidents recently, the mines and minerals branch has vigilantly stopped the unauthorized mining and transportation of plain clay and sand minerals, preventing losses to the exchequer and confiscating crores of rupees. An outrage has been sparked among illegal miners and transporters of the mineral. This operation was carried out in Vadodara and Karjan talukas. It also had the involvement of the Karjan taluka administration. The department has adopted an advanced method of drone surveillance to monitor mineral theft, as informed by the Geologist Nirav Barot. Recently, Raika, Dodka, Fajalpur, and Khalipur were the areas of Vadodara taluka where this drone survey was conducted. Meanwhile, a sub-contractor of a private company at Khalipur was successful in exposing the unauthorized mining and transportation of plain clay. He was giv

Author-Shlok Talati