Representative picture. | Photo Credit: Moorthy aorty M
In a significant political step aimed at streamlining the offer of building materials and restricting illegal mining, the Rajasthansk government completed the action plan for defining and auction for units produced (M-SAND). The decision is followed by the state recognition of the M-Sannd units as a sector and expands them with official status to support investments and development.
The Chief Secretary (Mines) T. Ravikanth announced on Saturday (May 17, 2025) that 109 land was identified as planned. Of these, 77 lands are earmarked for e-auction, including a total of 158 hectares, while 32 overloading of the unloading plots covering 131 hectares. In particular, 26 plots have already been successfully auctioned, aimed at increasing the M-SAND offer for the building sector.
This initiative means a strategic shift in response to the Supreme Court Directive in 2017, which in Rajasthan imposed a ban on river mining (usually known as Bajri). The Supreme Court ordered a study of scientific supplementation and subsequent permission of the Ministry of the Environment and Forest before any renewal of mining activities. Subsequently, the Central Committee (CEC) was established to explore the question of illegal sand mining.
The intervention of the court led to a sharp decline in the availability of the legally mined sand of the river, which led to an increase in prices and the creation of a mafia on sand mining, contrary to environmental standards. Although the environmental offense was eventually granted 60 mining zones in 2022, the delay in the offer has already been hampered by several infrastructure projects.
The new M-Sannd policy is expected to rely relies on the riverbed sources, facilitate narrow places and strengthen the environmental guarantees. It allows investors to establish M-Sannd units and at the same time use incentives supported by the state and support infrastructure. Officials claim that this step is also expected to instill public confidence in the quality and usefulness of M-Sannd for construction.
Mr. Ravikanth, who addressed officials at the Audit Meeting of the Khanij Bhawan department, stressed that support for legal mining is the key to controlling illegal extraction activities. He ordered the Ministry down to speed up the definition and auction of mineral graphs, including the main and smaller categories.
In addition, Mr. Ravikanth said that there was an effort to identify new sources of income for departments and involvement of existing leaks. He noted that the auction process for 22 main mineral blocks began at the beginning of the current financial year.
Published – May 17, 2025 9:01
