Progressive bidding for mining contracts to continue, says CM

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 26

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Tuesday said his government would continue with progressive bidding for grant of mining contracts. He also directed the Mining Department to explore the possibility of setting up a mining corporation, as suggested by Local Government Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu.

The directions were issued by the Chief Minister while chairing a high-level meeting to discuss various issues relating to mining in the state. He put to rest all speculation that the government could go back to reverse bidding for allotting mining contracts. The decision to reconsider Sidhu’s suggestions also gives a boost to him, whose policy had earlier been rejected by his Cabinet colleagues.

An official press release said since the establishment of a mining corporation, on the lines of Telangana as suggested by Sidhu, might take time, the Chief Minister said 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 ensure that the mining process was carried out with transparency and illegal mining was curbed, he added.

An official spokesperson said Sidhu’s suggestions on sand mining were discussed threadbare and it was decided to follow up the discussions with a detailed examination of the proposal by the Minister for Mines Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria. The minister had been entrusted with the task of coming out with the modalities to implement the auctions of new mines in strategically established clusters.

Expressing concern over the escalating prices of sand as a result of the stringent steps taken by the government to check illegal mining, the Chief Minister directed Sarkaria to initiate immediate steps for the de-silting of rivers for flood protection and start the process immediately after monsoons. The de-silted sand could be pumped into the market to ease the pricing pressure, he added.

Reiterating his government’s zero tolerance to illegal mining, Capt Amarinder Singh asked the Mining Department to deploy high-end monitoring equipment, including geo-tagging of sites and installation of GPS for tracking of trucks, to check unlawful mining.