Business
NAB Uncovers Trillions Lost in KP Placer Gold Mining Deals – SUCH TV
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), expressing serious concerns over the minimum price set for the auction of gold blocks along the Indus and Kabul rivers, has stated that the province is suffering losses worth trillions.
The bureau has also exposed irregularities in gold exploration operations.
According to official provincial government documents, NAB noted that leaseholders are openly subletting and charging between Rs500,000 to Rs700,000 per excavator per week.
Their estimated weekly income ranges from Rs750 million to Rs1 billion, totaling trillions, while the government receives only a minimal share.
Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Gandapur, told this correspondent that his government auctioned the placer gold blocks at high prices.
Previously, a single block had been auctioned at Rs650 million, but his government set the minimum price at Rs1.10 billion and sold four blocks for around Rs4.6 billion for a ten-year period.
He noted that no auctions had taken place in the past 20 years, and illegal gold extraction had been ongoing.
The project was advertised two to three times, but the bids were low, prompting the government to auction at higher rates.
The Chief Minister questioned why a study that started in 2023 was stopped and who had halted it.
He added that when the auction was held, a letter was sent to NAB, and one of its officers was present.
All legal requirements were fulfilled, he said, and operations are continuing to prevent illegal mining.
Documents reveal that in a high-level NAB meeting on August 7, attended by top provincial officials including the Chief Secretary KP and Secretary Minerals, the inquiry found that the reserve price of gold blocks had been deliberately miscalculated.
A 2015 study by the National Centre of Excellence in Geology, Peshawar, which identified gold reserves ranging from 0.21 to 44.15 grams per ton, had also been ignored.
Instead of following the KP Auction Rules 2022, the department intervened to favor specific bidders.
Additionally, the geological mapping project launched in 2022 to estimate new mineral resources was halted in November 2023 only for placer gold, raising suspicions of deliberate concealment.
Previous auctions had also failed due to poor publicity, which did not attract international investors.
Documents show that under the auction rules, if an agreement is not finalized within 14 days, the offer should be withdrawn.
However, despite delays of months, contracts and allotment letters were issued.
Mining operations even continued in November 2024 despite a stay order from the Peshawar High Court.
The NAB highlighted serious violations by the leaseholders, such as not conducting environmental impact assessments, not obtaining NOCs from Environmental Protection Agency, failing to install processing plants, not following exploitation schemes, not submitting production or sales records, dangerously using mercury and illegally employing unskilled miners.
According to the NAB, more than 1,500 excavators are operating illegally in the area.
Leaseholders are charging Rs500,000 to Rs700,000 per excavator weekly, thus earning Rs750 million to Rs1.05 billion per week.
It is estimated trillions have already been earned, while the government is being paid only a token amount.
The government on Thursday kept petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) prices unchanged at Rs253.17 per litre and Rs257.08 per litre respectively, for the coming fortnight, starting from January 16.
This decision was notified in a press release issued by the Petroleum Division.
Earlier, it was expected that the prices of all petroleum products would go down by up to Rs4.50 per litre (over 1pc each) today in view of variation in the international market.
Petrol is primarily used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws, and two-wheelers, and directly impacts the budgets of the middle and lower-middle classes.
Meanwhile, most of the transport sector runs on HSD. Its price is considered inflationary, as it is mostly used in heavy transport vehicles, trains, and agricultural engines such as trucks, buses, tractors, tube wells, and threshers, and particularly adds to the prices of vegetables and other eatables.
The government is currently charging about Rs100 per litre on petrol and about Rs97 per litre on diesel.
One of Britain’s most prolific rail fare dodgers could face jail after admitting dozens of travel offences.
Charles Brohiri, 29, pleaded guilty to travelling without buying a ticket a total of 112 times over a two-year period, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.
He could be ordered to pay more than £18,000 in unpaid fares and legal costs, the court was told.
He will be sentenced next month.
District Judge Nina Tempia warned Brohiri “could face a custodial sentence because of the number of offences he has committed”.
He pleaded guilty to 76 offences on Thursday.
It came after he was convicted in his absence of 36 charges at a previous hearing.
During Thursday’s hearing, Judge Tempia dismissed a bid by Brohiri’s lawyers to have the 36 convictions overturned.
They had argued the prosecutions were unlawful because they had not been brought by a qualified legal professional.
But Judge Tempia rejected the argument, saying there had been “no abuse of this court’s process”.
JSW Jetour T2 Launch: JSW Motors Limited, the passenger vehicle arm of the JSW Group, is reportedly preparing to enter the Indian car market this year. It has partnered with Jetour, a China-based automotive brand owned by Chery Automobile, and the Jetour T2 SUV could be the company’s first product, according to the reports.
Media reports suggest that the launch will happen independently and not under the JSW MG Motor India joint venture. The SUV will wear a JSW badge and name, instead of the Jetour branding. The upcoming SUV will be assembled at JSW’s upcoming greenfield manufacturing facility in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Maharashtra.
According to the reports, the company plans to have the vehicle on sale by the third quarter of this year. With this move, JSW aims to establish itself as a standalone carmaker in India.
Expected Powertrain
The SUV is likely to arrive with a 1.5-litre plug-in hybrid setup. Internationally, this hybrid powertrain is offered with both front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive options. It is still unclear which version will be introduced in India.
Design
In terms of design, the T2 is a large and rugged-looking SUV. It has a boxy and upright stance, similar to vehicles like the Land Rover Defender. Despite its tough appearance, it uses a monocoque chassis instead of a ladder-frame construction.
Size
The SUV measures around 4.7 metres in length and nearly 2 metres in width. This makes it larger than the Tata Safari, even though it is a five-seater. A longer 7-seat version is also sold in some markets.
Price
Pricing details for India are yet to be announced. For reference, the front-wheel-drive five-seat T2 i-DM is priced at AED 1,44,000 (around Rs 35 lakh) in the UAE.
Jetour
Jetour is a brand owned by Chinese automaker Chery. Launched in 2018, it focuses mainly on SUVs and is present in markets across China, the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
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