Nurpur residents resent sudden hike in sand, gravel prices by stone crushers

Price of sand raised from Rs 26 to Rs 29 per cubic foot and that of gravel from Rs 19 to Rs 22

Rajiv Mahajan

Nurpur, Updated At : 04:42 AM Jan 09, 2025 IST

A tipper unloads gravel at a construction site near Nurpur. Tribune photo

A sudden spurt in the prices of sand and gravel being sold by local stone-crushers has upset poor residents of this border town who have been constructing their pucca houses under the Prime Minister Awas Yozana (PMAY)– Gramin. Besides, the price hike has also hit residents affected by the Pathankot-Mandi four-lane project as the cost of their under-construction residential and commercial buildings has increased drastically.Resentment is brewing among the affected families, who had started constructing houses and commercial buildings after they were displaced due to the widening of the national highway. The underprivileged rural families in the area who have recently got the first installment of financial assistance under PMAY are the worst sufferers. Nurpur Assembly constituency had got approval of around 3,400 pucca houses under PMAY last year. Construction of these houses is under progress but sudden price hike in sand and gravel has upset the beneficiaries.

As per information, stone-crushers recently raised the price of sand from Rs 26 to Rs 29 per cubic foot and gravel from Rs 19 to Rs 22 per cubic foot. The affected people and beneficiaries of the PMAY have urged the state government to regulate functioning of stone-crushers and ensure the prices of sand and gravel are kept under control. They have also underlined the need to keep tabs on the arbitrariness of stone-crusher owners who had raised the prices exorbitantly.

Suresh Kumar, Mining Officer, Nurpur, said the royalty on finished product of stone-crushers had been revised in 2022 from Rs 60 to Rs 80 per ton and the state government had not revised this royalty in the past two years. Meanwhile, stone-crusher owners in the area have cited increase in input cost of the stone crusher industry as the reason for price hike.

caption; A tipper unloads gravel at a construction site near Nurpur. Tribune photo

Nurpur residents resent sudden hike in sand, gravel prices by stone crushers

Rajiv Mahajan

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