Pb to rope in IITs for assessing availability of sand

News, Punjab

Chandigarh: Punjab will rope in IIT Kanpur, Roorkee, Delhi and Kharagpur to assess demand of sand and its availability in rivers as per Union Environment Ministry guidelines, as part of the state government's efforts to plug revenue leakage by curbing illegal mining in the state.

During a cabinet sub-committee meeting on mining chaired by state minister Navjot Singh Sidhu for framing of a new mining policy in the state to boost revenue from the sector, it was proposed that sand would be made available to consumers at a fixed rate.