To counter mining mafia, state to cap sand price at ₹9/cubic feet

PATIALA: Swinging into action to check the soaring prices of sand, the Punjab government will cap sand and gravel prices at ₹9 per cubic feet, including loading charges at mining sites. This will be done by implementing a provision of the existing mining policy passed by the Captain Amarinder Singh cabinet in 2018 but never implemented.

The decision will help the government check the mining mafia. A proposal has been finalised and will be announced after the next cabinet meeting, an official source said, requesting anonymity. This is one of 18 points on the agenda set by the Congress high command.

“The 2018 policy has a provision to cap the mining of sand and gravel at ₹9 per cubic feet. But it was not implemented since the mining auction of 2019. Everyone knows who’s the culprit as the mining mafia was operating like in the previous regime. Except the increase in the government revenue from ₹30 crore to ₹270 crore, nothing changed. There was no relief for consumers,” said the official.

What the 2018 mining policy says

The mining policy approved in 2018 by the cabinet states that both sand and gravel shall not be sold by the concessionaire at the mining site at more than ₹9 per cubic feet and this includes the cost of loading the vehicle. The maximum rates linked to the distance that can be charged per cubic feet for transportation of sand and gravel will be notified.

The maximum rate of sand and gravel chargeable from the customer will not exceed the sum of the above stated two rates.

The concessionaire will despatch sand and gravel through only those who agree to transport it at the notified or less rates. Any violation will result in the cancellation of the agreement and forfeiture of the security amount, the policy says. But government never implemented these provisions.

Principal secretary, mining, Sarvajit Singh didn’t respond to phone calls.