New policy soon to curb illegal mining,says CM

The CM asked all the deputy commissioners (DCs) of the state to take strictest possible action against illegal miners,regardless of their political affiliations,in order to check this menace effectively.

Sand mining is carried out mainly in state’s sub-mountain areas including,Ropar,Hoshiarpur and some areas in Gurdaspur.

In the Assembly session that concluded on Friday,the Opposition Congress party had alleged that a handful of ruling party members were illegally controlling sand mining and that prices of sand and gravel had gone up astronomically.

Passing the instructions to DCs,Badal said any sort of leniency in checking this unlawful trade would not be tolerated at any cost.

Presiding over a meeting of the top state brass and all DCs,the CM said his government has set up a target of planting 40 crore saplings in next eight years.

He said the government would be formally launching the ‘Greening Punjab

Campaign’ on Sunday

from Fazilka for enhancing the forest cover in the

state. Badal also asked the district heads to identify vacant government land for plantation.

Badal also directed the DCs to personally supervise the ongoing flood protection work in their districts during the monsoon season.

“The required funds for flood protection have been already released and the DCs must ensure that all the flood control works were completed by July 7,” Badal said,while approving to release Rs 5 lakh for each district to enable the DCs to pay compensation promptly for any loss of property or cattle of the people during the monsoon season.

The chief minister also asked the DCs to ensure that money under the Shagun Scheme was disbursed to the beneficiaries’ in time.

Also,in order to redress public’s grievances,the CM asked the DCs to ensure regular public meeting sessions. “The officers must also regularly tour the villages to understand the problems faced by people and ensure its timely resolution.”