Chandigarh, Oct 17 :
In order to bring more transparency in the sand mining business, the Punjab Cabinet on Wednesday approved several major policy changes to enable the government grant contracts by auction of mining blocks. This auctioning will be done in strategically established clusters through progressive bidding instead of the earlier process of auction by individual mines.
The move would help substantially increase the royalty receipt of the State Exchequer, provide adequate supply at fair price to the consumer, and curb illegal mining. The decision came during the Cabinet meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh.
It has also been decided that the Department of Mining would launch an online Punjab Sand Portal for sale of sand to all consumers, small or medium. All transactions/payments will be captured through online real-time monitoring system. The sale of sand would be controlled by electronic documentation linked to central documentation, with modern facility, and the daily progress report would be uploaded on the portal.
The official spokesperson said that to check overpricing of sand and gravel, a cap has been put on their sale price. Both sand and gravel shall not be sold by the concessionaire at the mining site at more than Rs 9 per cubic feet, which includes cost of loading on the vehicle.
