High sand prices proving stigma for govt; chief secretary issues new orders to transport, mining department’s
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in
Following the instructions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to improve the management of sand transportation to provide sand to the people of the state at reasonable prices, Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Janjua held a meeting with the Department of Transport and Mining and directed strict monitoring of vehicles carrying sand.
During a meeting at the Punjab Civil Secretariat here today, the Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Janjua said that the sand carrying vehicles (tippers/trucks/trailers etc.) in Punjab should be checked by ensuring strict compliance with the instructions of the Chief Minister and if any vehicle violates the rules, strict action should be taken against the guilty. He said that the price of sand has been fixed at Rs. 9 per cubic foot, but due to the high price charged by the sand transporters, the people get sand at exorbitant rates which will not be tolerated.
The Chief Secretary authorized the executive engineer (XEN) level officials of the Mining Department for checking the vehicles carrying sand. He also warned the transporters involved in this work. He further divulged that the transport department has also been asked to find a legal way to transport sand by tractor-trolley as the use of tractor-trolley for agriculture is for a limited time twice a year during crop sowing and harvesting. With this, while the farmers will get financial help, the people will also get sand at a reasonable price.
High sand prices proving stigma for govt; chief secretary issues new orders to transport, mining department’s. The Principal Secretary Mining Krishan Kumar and Principal Secretary Transport Vikas Garg were also present at the meeting.
Illegal sand mining has been a hotly debated political issue in successive governments in Punjab with parties accusing each other of patronising the mining mafia in the state.
November 7,2022
