The Uttarakhand government today
approved a new mining policy in order to earn more revenue through
open bidding and end the stranglehold of the land mafia.
In the new policy, the first
right of quarrying on up to 5 hectares of land would be given to its owner and
no individual will be leased out the quarrying right for two areas, principal
secretary industries Rakesh Sharma told reporters here after a cabinet meeting
chaired by chief minister B C Khanduri.
For the environmental purpose,
the government has banned mining/quarrying on 15 meters areas from both the
banks of the river.
The government has also decided
to set up a watchdog to monitor the mining process in view of large scale
illegal mining activities and environmental concerns.
The cabinet decision to bring the
new mining/quarrying policy, locally known as “khanan” came in order
to end the foothold of the illegal operators which cause considerable revenue
loss to the state.
The fresh surveys for
mining are also being conducted to identify mining areas in the state and all
the district magistrates have been asked to send their reports in this regard.
A total of 900 hectare of area has already been identified in Dehra Dun alone
for mining purposes.
Source: The Economic Times
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