Mining Dept earmarks nine quarries in Punjab for public

Sanjeev Singh Bariana

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Chandigarh, February 4

In a first, the Mining Department has earmarked at least nine quarries in the state which will be opened as public mining sites on February 7. Anyone can walk right up to the site and extract sand and gravel by making payment at the rate of Rs 5.50 per square foot.

No JCBs to be allowed

• Anyone can extract sand and gravel from site
• The charges will be Rs 5.50 per square foot
• No JCBs or any other similar machine will be allowed at any public mining site
• Buyer to bring vehicle, labour

Being opened with the aim of providing sand and gravel at regulated and reasonable rates, the public mining sites are Gorsain, Baliewal and Chuharwal in Ludhiana district; Jindanpur, Malana and Sultanpur in Ropar district; and Badha and Chak Gaeeba Sandar in Fazilka district. The mining sites will be opened on Tuesday (February 7) in Ludhiana district by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. More sites would be added soon, said a senior official of the department.

These public mining sites will be a part of total 18 sites being opened to the public in this batch. At the remaining nine sites, excavation will be done by mining contractors. The buyer is required to get his own transport vehicle and labour at the site to extract sand. Official sources said no JCBs or any other similar machine would be allowed at any public mining site.

It is worth mentioning that the state Cabinet had in August last year, fixed the pit head selling price of sand gravel at Rs 9 per cubic feet. Public has been complaining about the skyrocketing prices of sand and gravel which have affected construction.

The sand has been selling between Rs 40 and Rs 60 per cubic feet. It is now expected that the government’s move of fixing revised prices will reduce the cost of sand for the common man.

Simultaneously, the transporters, crusher owners and miners have been issued clear instructions regarding not to charge above the fixed prices from their quarries.