Cabinet meeting today: Punjab to frame policy, allow farmers to mine silt without taking green nod

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has called a Cabinet meeting at 12 noon on Monday. Sources said that he is unlikely to be discharged from the hospital by then and will in all likelihood will chair the meeting through videoconferencing. Mann is in hospital since Thursday night. On Sunday, he discussed flood situation, rescue and relief operations with Chief Secretary KAP Sinha and DGP Gaurav Yadav, a government statement said.

Punjab Water Resources Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal told The Indian Express that the policy was being formulated. “We are trying to table it in the Cabinet Monday. Let us see. The policy will be aimed at giving relief to the flood affected landowners. They will be allowed to sell sand from their fields.”

On whether the government will charge any royalty from the farmers for mining the sand, Goyal said, “We are trying to allow them to make money. They have lost their paddy crop to floods. Then they have to prepare for the next wheat crop. They will be able to sow it only if their fields, filled with silt after floods, are able to dispose off this silt. This is a labour intensive work. We are trying that they do not suffer more for employing labour after having suffered the fury of nature. Rest, the Cabinet will decide. Everything will be clear after the Cabinet meeting.”
While environment clearance for mining is to be given by the Centre, the state government is likely to make a special case, “When a disaster has struck, a state government can bring a policy through the Cabinet to mitigate their hardship. Under this policy, we will allow that they can mine the sand without seeking any environment clearance. This will make the mining faster and they will be able to prepare for their next crop by emptying their fields.”

Earlier, during the day, AAP Punjab incharge Manish Sisodia had said that the government will soon announce a policy to allow farmers to freely remove sand deposited in their fields due to the floods, ensuring agricultural activities can resume without delay. He had said that the policy will be announced by the Chief Minister.

Sisodia said, “The floods have destroyed crops, damaged homes, and claimed livestock. But the biggest concern of our farmers right now is the sand left behind in their fields, which could make future farming impossible. We have taken their feedback seriously. Mann has already discussed this issue with officials and assured that a clear policy will be announced in the next few days to allow farmers to remove the sand from their fields without any bureaucratic hurdles.”

He added that the decision will not only help farmers prepare their land for the next sowing season but also provide them an opportunity to sell the sand if it can be used for construction purposes. “This will be a double relief, the land will be cleared for crops, and farmers can also earn some income from selling the sand,” Sisodia said.

The AAP leader emphasised that the Mann government has been working round-the-clock to support people affected by the floods. “All our ministers, MLAs, and volunteers have been on the ground providing relief. I personally visited many districts and villages, met with farmers, understood their problems, and assured them that the government stands firmly with them,” he said.

Goyal said that sand mixed with soil was deposited by floods in the agriculture fields. “This is mostly a mixture but if too much silt is deposited then it is not possible to use is in the fields and sow crops on it. A layer has to be removed. However, during the 2023 floods, the wheat sown on the land with deposit of silt saw as much production as was seen in the non-flooded fields.”

On April 23, the Cabinet had announced a similar policy to identify Landowner Mining Sites (LMS) and allow the land owners to mine land.

The LMS were announced to facilitate the landowners with land containing sand deposits to apply for a mining lease and sell the material in the open market at the government’s notified rates.

Previously, many mining sites remained non-operational due to the lack of consent from landowners, as they were unwilling to allow unknown individuals to mine their land. The introduction of LMS was aimed at increasing the number of operational mining sites, which will, in turn, boost market supply and state revenue. This move was also to prevent monopolies in the mining sector.

Additionally, Deputy Commissioners were granted the authority to issue No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for government and Panchayat lands, as they are the custodians of these lands. This change was to streamline the process and expedite the operationalisation of mining sites on government lands. “However, this policy is different. Now, the landowners will not need any environment clearance,” a source said.