In a bid to curb illegal mining in the State and to check degradation of environment, the Punjab Cabinet on Friday gave its nod to additional set of stringent guidelines and rules through various amendments.
The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.
“The Punjab Minor Mineral Rules, 2013 and Policy Guidelines for Registration and Working of Stone Crushers in the State of Punjab, 2015, will be amended to ensure that any kind of minor mineral extracted from the State is properly accounted for,” said an official statement.
The statement said the amendments to these rules-guidelines will pave the way for stricter curbs on illegal stone crushing.
“The amendments make it mandatory for the registration of a carrier used for transportation of minerals in any form, and the requirement of a mineral transport permit, with carrier to be fitted with GPS for real time tracking. Also, registration of wheel mounted-chain mounted excavators involved in excavation of minerals in the State, and all such machinery, shall be fitted with GPS to monitor their movement in real time,” it said.
The amendments will also empower the government to levy strict penalty under Indian Penal Code and other laws, in case anyone tries to establish check-post for checking of slips or collection of illegal royalty.
Online registration
“It will also enable the Water Resources Department to keep a check on the stone-crushers, as their registration has been made mandatory on the online portal developed by the department. Also, the material processed by them will be duly accounted for. Similarly, the rules for issuing transport permits to the vehicles transporting the minerals are also being suitably amended to check illegal transportation,” the statement said.
