Jakhar flays govt for delay in formulation of mining policy
Thursday, 04/04/2013
http://punjabnewsline.com/news/Jakhar-flays-govt-for-delay-in-formulation-of-mining-policy.html
CHANDIGARH: The Congress Legislative Party Leader Sunil Jakhar has held the SAD BJP alliance govt accountable on delaying formulating mining policy by one year.Jakhar said here today that the delay was politically malafide as the ruling politicians connived to benefit their henchmen.
“If the revision of the policy was within its jurisdiction, why the government took a year and tried to divert the guns to the central government, the government owes an explanation,” Jakhar added.He claimed that the pressure mounted by the opposition party Congress and resentment brewing among the masses finally forced the state government redefine its police on mining only few days earlier.
During the past year loot and plunder was allowed willfully due to which the state exchequer suffered losses running in to hundreds of crore, this need to be probed by an independent agency to unveil the mafia, he said.Jakhar regretted that the alliance government under false pretexts of directions from the central government, had banned mining of gravel, stone crushing and bricks resulting in closure of 2700 brick kilns that grossly rendered 6 lakh brick kiln workers jobless, it further affected 20 lakh masons and labour that depended for two square meals on construction work.
The CLP leader said that state had huge sources of gravel sand, mining of sand and bajri is confined to 3 thousand hectare only whereas more than 1500 hectares area can more be explored, this will make the building material affordable.
