Punjab Mines and Geology Minister Harjot Singh Bains on Monday inaugurated the first sales centre for selling sand and gravel to people in Mohali. He said such sales centres will be opened in all districts of the state.
The AAP government has claimed that Punjab residents will get sand and gravel from this centre at the government rate. The centre would get its supply from government pits. A sign board has also been installed at the site wherein the number of assistant mining officers and mining inspector has been mentioned.
The sign board reads, ‘Now, common people will not face loot’. Bains said that since sand mining is no longer permitted by Punjab and Haryana High Court, the state has asked its crushers to procure the same from other states. The cost of loading and unloading charges stands at Rs 20 and Rs 8, respectively.
Currently, people procure sand and gravel from the open market.
The Punjab government in August amended the 2021 sand and gravel mining policy to fix the rates of sand at Rs 9 per cubic feet and the maximum retail price of gravel at Rs 20 per cubic feet, excluding transportation charges. Hence, Rs 28 per foot and gravel will be cheaper by Rs 30 per foot.
Furthermore, Bains said there is difference of Rs 1.5 to Rs 2 between the market rate of sand and gravel. He said the government’s move is to contain monopolies by builders and transporters.
Hitting out at the opposition, Bains said that both Congress and Akali Dal had been equally responsible for illegal sand mining.
Speaking to India Today, he said, “I can show you the data of the past two decades. So Channi and SAD are equally culprits. Those responsible for protection of illegal sand mining will be questioned. Their (Akali and Congress regimes) one year revenue is our one week revenue.”
“But I promise the moment the ban on (sand) mining is lifted, we will have the best sand mining model in the country. The prices will then further drop to Rs 15 per foot,” he claimed.
The AAP government came under fire from opposition parties over high rates of construction materials in the state. The issue of the illegal sand mining mafia was a hot topic during the assembly polls.
