Giving in-principle approval to continue with progressive bidding for grant of mining contracts, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Tuesday directed the Mining Department to explore the possibility of setting up a Mining Corporation, as suggested by local Government Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu.
The decision was taken by the Chief Minister while chairing a high-level meeting to discuss various issues relating to mining in the state.
Capt Amarinder said: “Since the establishment of Mining Corporation, on the lines of Telangana as suggested by Sidhu, may take time, the state government would continue to follow the progressive bidding policy, which it had adopted and which had been upheld by the Supreme Court. This would help to ensure that the mining process is carried out with transparency and illegal mining is curbed.”
Giving details of the meeting, an official spokesperson said that Sidhu’s suggestion was discussed threadbare and it was decided to follow up the discussions with a detailed examination of the proposal to see how best it could be taken forward.
The Chief Minister, while batting for progressive bidding as the best methodology in the present circumstances to tackle the menace of illegal mining, asked the Department to work out the modalities for the conduct of auctions in strategically established clusters.
Expressing concern over the escalating prices of sand as a result of the steps taken by the government to check illegal mining, he directed the Revenue and Irrigation Minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria to initiate immediate steps for desilting of rivers for flood protection.