Digging deep into the losses incurred by the State, Punjab Mining and Water Resources Minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria on Wednesday claimed that the State suffered a loss of Rs 3,000 crore due to illegal mining during the previous SAD-BJP Government.
Responding to the query raised by Congress Baba Bakala MLA Santokh Singh Bhalaipur, Sarkaria alleged that the revenue of Rs 3,000 crore, that could have been earned by the Government, was looted because of illegal mining during the 10-year of SAD-BJP regime.
“During the 10 years tenure of their government, the State earned Rs 35 to 40 crore from the mining auctions. We wanted to auction the sites after bringing new policy, but mafia stopped us by procuring stay from the High Court. After seven month fight, we have now conduct the auction of sites in July and earned Rs 306 crore,” said Sarkaria, adding that just to save their wrongdoings, Akalis are now blaming the ruling government.