To check the sand prices and plug the gap in the demand and supply of the same, the Captain Amarinder Singh government has decided to release additional annual sand and gravel to the tune of 2 crore tonne, through e-auction progressive bidding of 102 mines.

An official spokesperson said that this step will address sand scarcity and curb the resultant steep hike in the price of the commodity.

The move is also expected to push up the mining business’ contribution to the state exchequer multi-fold with total revenue of nearly Rs 300 Crore to Rs 350 Crore in additional revenue for the state.

Currently, on account of the rampant illegal mining in the state, the government is getting just about Rs 45 Crore from the mining business.

The e-auction notification for the grant of the mines was issued on Thursday, according to the spokesperson, who said the auctions will be held online to restore faith and transparency in the system, as part of the Congress government’s policy of minimum control backed by maximum facilitation and regulation of the mining business to ensure a fair price regime.

The 102 mines, located in 14 districts across the state, have an annual extractable quantity of nearly 2 crore tonne and will be auctioned with a reserve price of Rs 170 Crore.

The e-auction for these mines will be conducted for registered bidders on May 19 and 20 by Punjab Infotech through a digital platform provided by their technical partners ITI Ltd.

The registration process of the prospective bidders will be facilitated through a demonstration training programme by Punjab Infotech and ITI Ltd – a public sector entity of the Union government – on May 8 and 9.

The extractable sand released from these 102 mines will supplement the existing and operational 87 mines with a total capacity of one crore tonnes. This will help plug the demand-supply gap in the state and will check the sand prices, while ensuring elimination of the illegal mining that had become widespread under the previous regime.

The opening up the 102 new legal mines would release enough sand not only to meet the current estimated demand of 2 Crore tonne, but enable the state to address the additional demand likely to crop up in the foreseeable future, according to the spokesperson.

Going forward, the government will follow the same policy of managing the supply side effectively, and will release more capacity on a frequent basis to meet the growing demand for sand in the state, he added.