Ahmedabad: 

Much hue and cry is being raised over the politicians, Reddy brothers' complicity in illegal mining in Karnataka, but an issue of similar gravity, if not more, is being grossly underplayed in Gujarat — till environment activist Amit Jethava was killed on Tuesday night in a gangland style point-blank shootout.

As in Karnataka, powerful politicians in the ruling as well as Opposition party in Gujarat have been involved inhundreds of illegal mining operations on the Gujarat coast in Saurashtra.

These mines are causing irreparable damage to the environment and wildlife, not to mention huge losses to government coffers. 
The main reason being touted for Jethava's murder is a PIL filed by him in the Gujarat high court pointing out illegal mining activities within the five km periphery of the Gir Wildlife Sanctuary.

While Jethava had been campaigning against this for more than five years by bringing it to forest officials' notice, the PIL was the last straw as the authorities were completely unable to control this legal action.

On Wednesday, Jethava's father Bhiku Batawala alleged that BJP MP Dinu Solanki was behind his son's murder. In his PIL in the HC, Jethava had alleged that "all the mining activities in Una and Kodinar taluka are carried out by Solanki and his cousins Shiva and Pratap Hamirbhai Solanki, president of Kodinar Nagarpalika". On June 6, in an oral order, the HC had directed the authorities to conduct a detailed survey of the mines in the area.

"At least 60 mines are operating right outside the sanctuary with impunity. The entire region between Una and Kodinar-Talala is lined with illegal mines. Despite innumerable representations in the last five years, forest authorities did not take action," Jethava had said in a statement dated June 13. 
Shock and anguish are what activists are feeling all around at Jethava’s death. Jethava may have been a tough nut to crack, but he was deeply wedded to the cause he represented.

The mining mafia has been a permanent feature of the Saurashtra underworld for decades now. Activists candidly admit that there is barely any land untouched in the entire limestone rich coastal belt. But no one has had the audacity to take them on in a court of law. Jethava did.

The leader of the Opposition in the Gujarat Assembly, Shaktisinh Gohil, aptly sums it up. "He (Jethava) had taken on people connected with the ruling party involved in illegal mining in Gir forest. He was fighting against a system, and influential people in power in this system got him eliminated," Gohil says in a statement.