Transparent mining policy bringing record revenue, mafia thrived under Congress, alleges BJP
Monday, 21 OCTOBER 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The Bharatiya Janata Party has claimed that better management and transparency have resulted in record revenues from mining in the State. This clearly shows that a large portion of the revenue went into the pockets of the mafia during the term of the Congress government in the past, the party said.
The BJP State media in-charge Manveer Singh Chauhan said that the better mining policy of the State government is proving beneficial for the economy. Due to simplification of the mining rules, Rs 500 crore revenue has been earned so far in the financial year 2024-25, which is expected to increase to Rs 1,200 crore by March next year. This amount is four times higher than the revenue earned during the term of the Congress government, he said. “In the past, the mining policy was drafted based on the approval of the mining mafia but the State government under chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami made special arrangements to ensure exploitation of resources on a scientific basis and prevention of theft. The revenue from mining under the Congress government never crossed Rs 300 crore. The State government is setting up 45 e-mine check gates at 40 locations in the inter-State border area to effectively prevent illegal mining. Surveillance systems comprising NPR cameras, GPS and RFID reading facilities will be provided at these check gates. Automatic e-challan will be done in case the valid documents are not available,” he said.
Chauhan further said that the State government has made a provision for e-auction for the allocation of mining lease to ensure transparency in the process. For the first time, the State government has imposed a Rs 70 per tonne tax on minerals brought from outside the State. Targetting the opposition, he said that these figures should make the Congress introspect on why it is in its present position.
