Explainer: What new mining policy means for Punjab

The Punjab Cabinet’s nod to amend the Punjab Minor Minerals Policy of 2022 marks a significant shift in the way sand mining is carried out and regulated in the state. The AAP government claims the move is aimed at not only curbing illegal extraction and monopolistic practices, but also putting a check on soaring construction costs. Another rationale being offered is that the amended policy will bring additional revenue as all mining activity will now be under the formal sector.

Once the new policy is enforced, individual landowners will be able to sell sand deposits on their properties after applying for a mining lease. The government will be able to sell sand deposits on all state-owned lands.

The royalty for sand and gravel mining has also been increased. Initially, Rs 0.73 per cubic feet was charged for both minerals. This has been hiked to Rs 3.20 per cubic feet for gravel and Rs 1.75 per cubic feet for sand. Environmentalists, however, say that allowing mining at all sites is a recipe for disaster.

Political push

It was in the late 1990s that a group of young men from Ropar realised the economic potential of sand mining. As the business of extracting and selling sand flourished, politicians started dabbling in it too — mostly illegally. By the early 2000s, leaders from across the political spectrum had taken control of the business.

When the Akali-BJP coalition, then in power in the state, fared poorly in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, an internal SAD assessment cited illegal sand mining and high prices of sand and gravel as the major reasons for public discontent.

When the Congress took over reins in 2017, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh claimed that he had a list of over 30 MLAs of his own party who were involved in illegal mining. His Cabinet colleague Rana Gurjeet Singh had to resign over a controversial sand mining auction. Capt Amarinder’s successor Charanjit Singh Channi tried to bring a new policy aimed at increasing supply and reducing retail prices.

However, his nephew was caught with cash by the Enforcement Directorate, and faced charges of money laundering linked to an alleged sand mining case of 2018.

Source of revenue

In the run-up to the 2022 Assembly polls, the Aam Aadmi Party claimed it would ensure that the revenue from mining would touch Rs 20,000 crore. The basis for this projection was that only 4 per cent of the total supply in Punjab was legal. In 2023-24, the annual revenue was Rs 288.52 crore and between April and October 2024, the figure was Rs 109.21 crore. The amendments aim to bring most mining activity under the legal ambit, but even then, the annual income is expected to be around Rs 800 crore.

Eco-clearance

Under the amended policy, the contractors, private landowners and Deputy Commissioners (for allowing lifting of sand from government land) will have to apply for environment clearance (EC) on their own. At present, auction of sites gets delayed because the government is unable to get the environmental clearance for some sites.

The government expects that individual ECs will be granted by the Environment Impact Assessment Committees within six to seven months.

Over-extraction

To check extraction over and above the agreed-to capacity, the government claims it will go in for enhanced ground-truthing of sites by roping in institutes like IIT-Ropar. Its highly ambitious plans include leveraging technology and IT solutions for monitoring, satellite and drone-based surveys and GPS tracking of all trucks.

Environment concerns

Several anti-mining crusaders like Ropar-based Tikka Yashvir Chand have objected to opening the “entire land” for mining, saying it will give the mining mafia legal sanction to completely mine the top layer of the soil. “In the past, we have seen entire hills in the lower Shivaliks being razed to get sand and gravel. Over-mining from riverbeds has posed a major risk to bridges. Mining on private and all government land will create an environmental havoc,” he warns.

Punjab