Punjab Mining and Geology Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer on Wednesday claimed that State Government has broken the backbone of sand mafia by bringing transparency in the sand supply.
“Punjab Government has fulfilled the promise of providing sand from the sand mines for Rs 5.50 per cubic feet to the people and has also proved that the transparency in governance and honesty towards public interest is the biggest priority of the state government,” said Hayer, who inspected the public sand mining site at Khoja village in Nawanshahr.
He said that from now onwards, neither any goon will be found for extortion in the name of mining, nor there will be any illegal mining. For the Punjab government, the interests of the common people are above the revenue from sand, he added.
Hayer said that in view of the massive response to the public sand mines in seven districts launched by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday from Ludhiana, and the ease of providing sand to the common people, the scope of these mines will be extended by the end of this month. “The number of public sand mines will be increased to 50 in 14 districts. The target has been set to increase this number to over 150 by next year,” he added.
Responding to a media query whether all 'clearances' have been taken from the competent authorities to operate these public sand mines, the Minister said that there was a special instruction in this regard by the Chief Minister, according to which these mines have been opened to the public only after taking necessary approvals from the High Court and State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA).
“I am satisfied that the Government's initiative of throwing open public sand mines has benefited the common people at the ground level. The purpose of my inspection of these sites is to speed up the work of other public mines to be opened in the next few days. Priority is being given to those places where the public mine is close to the main road, the road leading to the quarry is almost government-owned, there is no charge for using the private road,” he added.
He said that with the opening of more public sand mines in the state, there will be no paucity of sand for the needy persons who want to have a roof over their heads. Similarly, to benefit the districts having no sand mine, a sufficient number of public mines would be opened in the districts, next to them.
Director Mines and Geology Davinder Pal Singh Kharbanda, who was present on the occasion, told the Minister of Mines that to maintain transparency in the working of public sand mines and to check illegal mining, a 'QR code' will be sent to the buyer's mobile phone, in which sand information related to site name, payment, date, and sand slip duration can be viewed by scanning by the enforcement agencies.