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Khaira writes to CM Bhagwant Mann, seeks white paper on illegal sand mining
Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira on Friday asked chief minister Bhagwant Mann to bring a white paper on illegal sand mining in Punjab to expose the black sheep indulging in the activity in the state.
Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira on Friday asked chief minister Bhagwant Mann to bring a white paper on illegal mining in Punjab to expose the black sheep indulging in the activity in the state.
In a letter to the chief minister, Khaira said that time has come for the newly formed government to expose politicians, bureaucrats and the middlemen who have been hand in glove in the illegal activity of sand mining and hence depriving the state of its legitimate revenue worth crores of rupees. “This must be done before the state government formulates the mining policy,” he wrote.
The three-time Bholath MLA said the prevailing illegal mining mafia in the state is also making the life of the common man difficult by jacking the rates of the sand extraordinarily high for the common man. “Both you and the Delhi chief minister frequently claimed and raised the issue during the Punjab election campaign that in case your party was voted to power, you would expose the deep nexus between politicians, bureaucrats and the middlemen irrespective of party affiliations who were brazenly indulging in illegal mining,” he said, urging the chief minister to take action.
Former Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu also claimed that illegal sand mining was going on unabated and the price of a sand-laden trolley had more than doubled in one month.
“Had said at dharna yesterday. Sand trolley, which was at (Rs) 4,000 a month ago is now at (Rs) 9,000, is out of the reach of aam aadmi, hence constructions have stalled… Illegal mining goes on unabated. What is govt doing? @ArvindKejriwal ji Where is (Rs) 20k crore from sand? @BhagwantMann ji (sic),” he tweeted.
