Patna | Dec 01, 2017: Bihar State Mining Corporation Limited will start online sale of sand from December 1, bringing to an end the supply crunch.

The corporation will excavate sand through vendors, and it will sell the sand at pre-determined rates which will vary from place to place because the transportation cost will be included.

To book sand, one would have to visit www.mines.bih.nic.in or call up 0612-2215266 between 10am and 5pm on weekdays, a source in the mines and geology department said. Aadhaar number would have to be provided to book sand. In case of commercial use, one would have to provide PAN details as well.

"One would have to provide details like address and Aadhaar while purchasing sand from retailers also, and the same would be mentioned in the receipts," said the department source.

The customers are to pay only after delivery of the sand and if an amount more than what is mentioned in the bill is demanded, one can complain by calling up 0612-2215350 and 0612-2215251.

Mines and geology minister Vinod Kumar Singh said the new system "aims to weed out the role of unscrupulous elements who earlier controlled the sand market".

He said the sand supply would become normal within a few days.The minister also clarified that as Patna High Court had put a stay on the implementation of the new Bihar Minor Mineral Rules, 2017, the state government had decided to conduct the business as per the provisions of the 2013 rules. "Around 1,000 trucks have been registered with the department for transporting sand," said the department source, adding that retailers have been appointed in 29 districts so far.

The government cracked the whip against private sand miners in August this year because many firms were extracting more sand than allowed and violating other rules as well.

(Source: https://www.telegraphindia.com/)