Sand Mining reforms in Punjab: Cheap Sand and eliminated Mafia mining
Last Updated: 12 Jan 2025
Transparent & Cheap: Price for sand at pithead is fixed at Rs 5.50/sq ft[1]
-- 73 Public mines operational, earlier ZERO
-- 40 Comercial mines operational, earlier only 7 cluster leading to monopoly
-- Anyone with transport facility can buy sand at given price
Technology Advancement: Auto-escalation of Illegal mining activities[2]
-- Effective Real-time monitoring & Inspection
-- ‘Punjab Mines Inspection’ mobile application launched on 22 Nov 2024
Goonda Taxes, Illegal Mining rampant during Congress & Akali+BJP govts rule[3]
-- Mining money was pocketed by the Mining Mafia operating rampantly in the state
¶ 1. Public Mining Sites(PMS)[1:1]
Current Status (24 Dec 2024)[4]:
-- Number of public mining sites is currently 73
-- 18.37 Lakh Metric tonnes sand(out of the total 47.19 LMT) has been extracted at Rs.5.50/cft by general public
-- Target: 150 sites
-- This new concept of public mines was launched on 05 Feb 2023[5]
- Any person can purchase for his personal use by paying only ₹5.50/sq ft during daytime at pit head
- Person required to have his own transport vehicle along with labour to extract sand
- No machine allowed, No contractors allowed i.e. only manual mining
- Government officials present on the site to collect the sale price & issue a proper receipt
- CCTV cameras installed to keep 24-hour surveillance
"These sites will help in checking any malpractice to jack up the prices of sand and truly give the freedom of choice to the common man to buy sand from the source of his choice and at the price of his choice"
-- Mining Minister Meet Hayer
¶ Boost to Local Economy[6]
1000s crore annual earnings estimated for manual labourers and locals deploying tractor-trolleys, as no machines allowed
-- 1000s of Punjabis from local villages get work
- So far the local villagers have earned more than Rs.15 crore from just 32 public mining sites
- The labour earned more than 5 crore while the locals deploying tractor-trolleys are richer by more than Rs 10 crore
- At this rate, with target of commissioning 150 Public Mining sites across the State, it would ensure that thousands of Punjabis collectively earn Rs. 450 crore annually
¶ 2. Commercial Mines[7]
Current Status (24 Dec 2024)[4:1]:
-- 41 commercial mining sites clusters have already started, providing sand to the public at Rs.5.50/cft
-- 34.50 LMT of sand and gravel already extracted out of Total 138.68 LMT
Target: 100 clusters(earlier only 7), will make it more competitive
Huge Procedural Reform[6:1]:
Punjab government has taken a principled decision to complete all legal formalities such as approvals from the State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), and preparation of mining plans, before floating any tender for any mining site
i.e. change of contractor is easy, as permissions are in the name of Govt
- Machine and contractors allowed on commercial mines
- Earlier the entire state had been divided into just 7 clusters, which had made the entire mining operation monopolistic and eliminated the smaller players
- Massive response of 562 bids against 14 mining clusters advertised
¶ 3. Technology Advancements
a. Mobile App
App is designed to enhance monitoring and inspection of mining activities across the state
- ‘Punjab Mines Inspection’ mobile application launched on 22 Nov 2024
- Officers easily can conduct and document mining site inspections efficiently
- Submition of detailed inspection reports within a 200-meter radius of designated mining sites
- Action taken report submission functionality
- Will automatically delineate a 500-meter monitoring zone around identified hotspots, capture geographical coordinates during inspections and allow officers to upload images and videos
b. Modern weighbridges and Surveillance systems[4:2]
- Crusher sites are getting new modern weighbridges and surveillance systems
- PPP initiative worth around Rs.37 crore has been launched
- Incorporating advanced technologies such as ANPR, PTZ cameras and RFID readers
¶ 4. Zero tolerance toward corruption & illegal mining[7:1][8]
-
From April 15, 2022 - Oct 2024: Total 1360 FIRs have been filed in illegal mining[1:2]
-
421 persons have been arrested and 515 vehicles impounded till September 23, 2022
Multiple high officers suspended/arrested[9][10]
-- Former Congress MLA arrested for illegal mining[11]
-- Vigilance probe against senior Congress leader and & ex-Speaker Rana K P Singh[12]
-- ex-CM Channi’s nephew booked in illegal mining case[13]
Jan 2023-Feb 2024: Ropar region[14]
- 116 FIRs lodged against the people
- 230 notices had been issued
- Rs 80 crore fine imposed in 63 Ropar illegal mining cases
¶ Goonda Taxes, Illegal Mining rampant during Previous govts[3:1]
- Mafia had been destroying natural resources by unscientifically mining green mountains
- Multiple crore rupees every day collected through Gunda Tax (protection money)
- Congress, Akali Dal leaders were alleged to be running illegal mining rackets in Punjab
¶ 5. New Site identification[15]
- 518 potential mining sites (475 for sand and 43 for gravel) in 14 districts, with a total capacity of 800 crore cubic feet of minor minerals
- Government has identified 63 commercial and 72 public mining sites.
- Of these total 135 mining sites, only 92 have an environmental clearance for operations
References:
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/new-mobile-app-launches-to-combat-illegal-mining-in-punjab/articleshow/115581441.cms ↩︎
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/aap-congress-akali-dal-ilegal-mining-racket-punjab-345756-2016-10-09 ↩︎ ↩︎
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/bhagwant-mann-dedicates-16-mining-sites-across-7-punjab-districts-to-people-101675612256993.html ↩︎
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/former-congress-mla-arrested-for-illegal-mining-in-punjab-101655494165315.html ↩︎
https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/illegal-sand-mining-punjab-govt-orders-ed-vigilance-probe-against-ex-speaker-he-says-vendetta-8165376/ ↩︎
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/punjabs-ex-cm-channis-nephew-booked-in-illegal-mining-case/article65655911.ece ↩︎
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/80-crore-fine-imposed-in-63-ropar-illegal-mining-cases-590171 ↩︎
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/govt-eyes-rs-800-crore-from-mining/ ↩︎
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