Over 35 thousand cases of illegal mining have been reported in the country this year till June. This information was given by the Minister for Mines B.K. Handique in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha today. He said cases of illegal mining have been brought to the attention of the Centre and action has been initiated in consultation with the State governments. Mr. Handique said that 18 States have taken proactive steps to stop illegal mining. He said this, includes making of relevant laws and setting up of task forces to deal with this menace. Mr. Handique informed the House that state governments have been advised to set up state coordination committees to control illegal mining. Apart from this, modern technology like remote sensing, control on traffic, gathering market intelligence and registration of end users is in place besides setting up special cells.