The Punjab government on Wednesday secured bids worth Rs. 206 crore in its second e-auction of sand mines, conducted under the supervision of a retired High Court judge and two IAS officers.The two IAS officers were drawn by the Department of Mining from other departments to ensure total transparency in the bidding process for 55 mines. Of these 55 mines tendered, 43 were put on auction.A total of 306 bidders participated in the e-auction of the new mines, which will release an estimated 29 lakh tonnes of material to mark a crucial addition to the existing capacity, thereby further easing the demand pressure and stabilizing the price of sand in the market, an official spokesperson said after the e-auctions.
The mines, he said, are located in the high-demand areas of Ludhiana, Roopnagar, Jalandhar, Pathankot and Amritsar, and will contribute significantly to add sand and gravel capacities in the state.The Department of Mining will be bringing more quantity for auction in next month to further strengthen the supply side and ease the pricing pressure, said the spokesperson.
The first e-auctions of 89 mines were conducted after the installation of the new government by the Department in May this year, leading to a total revenue earning of Rs. 280 crore.The government decided to go in for e-auctions to destroy the sand mafia in the state, which was causing huge financial losses to the state exchequer. As surplus sand from e-auctions is released into the market, the prices of sand and gravel will go down and the state government would also make significant revenue earnings, said the spokesperson.Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has already said the government expected to earn Rs. 400-500 crore from sand mining auctions every year, as against Rs. 40 crore earned by the state during 2016-17, when the cartels patronised by the erstwhile Badal government controlled the mining business.
To curb the rampant illegal mining, the new government has also ordered major steps to unshackle the sand mining business from the control of the mafia, with impactful initiatives to bring in greater transparency in the systems and processes related to mining. These include physical checks, including the establishment of a robust mechanism at the district level where ADC and SP level officers are working as nodal officers to check illegal mining. A detailed review is being conducted every month by the District Mineral Foundation and State Mineral Foundation. The Department of Mining is also mulling stationing of retired army personnel at mining sites through PESCO.The Department is also strengthening its technological processes to ensure stringent checks at various steps of the mining business, including centralised slip generation system through i3MS system, as used in Odisha and recommended by the Government of India. The department is also planning to introduce satellite based monitoring, for which preliminary work has already been initiated. CCTV cameras will also be used at critical places, for which a pilot project will soon be launched in Ludhiana.