Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Thursday directed the respective district administrations to keep a strict vigil at the mining sites in order to keep illegal mining in check and asked the Deputy Commissioners to declare a reward of Rs 25,000 for the person who records someone violation of norms in this regard.
This move is also aimed to keep the prices of sand constant at the government fixed prices of Rs 5.50 per cubic feet.
Presiding over a meeting with the Deputy Commissioners and the SSPs, the Chief Minister further said that the distance rates from each mining site to the final destination point would be decided by the respective Deputy Commissioner. Further, he also directed to ensure that if any village panchayat wants sand then they should be provided the same free of cost from the mining sites. No charges should be levied from the trolleys carrying sand and only trucks should be charged the rate of Rs. 5.50 per cubic feet, said Channi.
Likewise, the Chief Minister also emphasized increasing the number of legal sites and starting the sites which were earlier closed down. He appreciated the efforts being made by the districts of Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Mohali and Ropar in this regard.
Emphasizing coordination between the Civil and Police Administration, the Chief Minister said that no political interference in this respect would be tolerated as he is determined to crack down hard on the culprits indulging in illegal sand mining.
( With inputs from ANI )
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