Chandigarh | Jul 06, 2017: Even as the opposition continues to flay the Congress government over the first phase of e-auction of sand minies, the Punjab government on Wednesday secured bids worth Rs 206 crore in its second phase conducted under the supervision of a retired High Court judge and two bureaucrats from other departments for 55 mines out of which 43 were put on auction. The first e-auction of 89 mines was held after the installation of the new government in May this year for an amount worth Rs 280 crore.

A total of 306 bidders participated in the e-auction of the new mines, which will release an estimated 29 lakh tonnes of material to mark a crucial addition to the existing capacity, thereby easing the demand pressure and stabilizing the price of sand in the market, an official spokesperson said after the auctions.

The mines are located in areas of Ludhiana, Ropar, Jalandhar, Pathankot and Amritsar, and will contribute significantly to add sand and gravel capacities in the state. The department of mining will bring more quantity for auction in the next month to further strengthen the supply and ease the pricing pressure, said the spokesperson.

Chief minister Amarinder Singh has said the government expected a revenue to the tune of Rs 400-500 crore from sand mining auctions every year, as against Rs 40 crore earned during the period 2016-17, when the cartels patronised by the erstwhile SAD-BJP government controlled the mining business.

The mining department promises to introduce technology to ensure stringent checks at various steps of the mining business, including centralised slip generation system through i3MS used in Odisha. The department is also planning to launch satellite based monitoring for which preliminary work has already been initiated. CCTV cameras will also be used at critical places, for which a pilot project will soon be launched in Ludhiana.

(Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/)