Punjab: Government hopes to earn Rs 800 crore from mining
Punjab: The Aam Aadmi Party government is hoping to garner an annual revenue of Rs 800 crore from mining operations, an attempt to revive the state’s dwindling finances and fulfil the party’s pre-poll promise to curb illegal mining. The revenue target is almost three times the Rs 288.52 crore earnings from mining operations in 2023-24. According to official sources, the Punjab Development Commission and the Mines and Geology Department have prepared a “draft report on augmenting mining revenue in Punjab”, which will be adopted as the next mining policy after getting approval in the next meeting of the state Cabinet. According to the report, the state has 518 potential mining sites (475 for sand and 43 for gravel) in 14 districts with a total potential of 800 crore cubic feet of minor minerals. Currently, the government has identified 63 commercial and 72 public mining sites. Out of these total 135 mining sites, only 92 have environmental clearance to operate. During the 2022 assembly elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had alleged a loss of Rs 20,000 crore to the state from illegal mining operations. However, the report now estimates the potential annual revenue generation to be Rs 800 crore.
As of now, only 34 crore cubic feet of sand and gravel is available from the sites against the estimated demand of 300 crore cubic feet, the report said. While the government hopes the move will curb illegal mining business, the draft report has called for mining leases for crusher owners and a progressive bidding system among the measures to increase the state’s revenue from mining. It has also recommended IT solutions like installation of radio frequency identification readers and cameras at check-points near sites, satellite and drone-based surveys, besides GPS tracking of all trucks and material. The report emphasised that frequent policy changes have further aggravated the challenges. Also, the report emphasises on improving ground truthing of the actual sand and gravel available at mining sites, improving consent from landowners for mining on the lines of Haryana. It also advocates handing over the responsibility of obtaining environmental clearance to the contractor, as currently the state government itself obtains the necessary clearances from the state and central environmental impact assessment committees depending on the size of the mine. Doing so will enable Punjab to obtain lower prices of sand and increase its revenue, the report said.
Continuous changes in the past
Since 2017, Punjab has had five mining policies, including the policies of 2022 and 2023, when public and commercial mining sites were separated. The Haryana mining policy is being examined. Despite having very little area for mining, the state earns Rs 1,000 crore from mining.
