Hoshiarpur- An important meeting was held at the District Administrative Complex today under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner Ashika Jain with the aim of making the concerned parties aware at the district level under the Punjab State Minor Mineral (Amendment) Policy-2025 issued by the Mines and Geology Department of the Punjab Government. Officers of various departments, crusher owners and landowners involved in mining work participated in the meeting.
Deputy Commissioner Ashika Jain said on this occasion that the Punjab government has amended this policy to stop illegal mining in the state and further reduce the prices of sand and gravel.
The Deputy Commissioner gave detailed information about the two new categories Crusher Mining Sites (CRMS) and Landowner Mining Sites (LMS) introduced under the new policy. He said that CRMS and LMS will be applicable in areas where there is adequate availability of gravel. Licenses for both the categories will be granted for five years. 
However, where existing Commercial Mining Sites (CMS) or Public Mining Sites (PMS) are active, CRMS or LMS will not be allowed after the expiry of the existing contracts or if they have not been operated for three years.
Ashika Jain said that the department has also issued SOPs to make the application process simple and transparent. He said that while applying online, it is necessary to attach Aadhaar card, PAN card, GST number (if applicable), certified copy of Jamabandi, Girdawari (if applicable), KMBL file of the proposed location, Form-1: Landowner's consent/agreement, Form-2: Consent affidavit for joint ownership matters and Form-3: DSR Consent affidavit. 
The Deputy Commissioner clarified that this new policy is an important step towards ensuring transparency in the state, controlling illegal mining and providing employment opportunities to the local people. 
She directed the officers to apprise all the concerned parties about the details of this policy so that there is no confusion in the application process in future. Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Amarbir Kaur Bhullar, AXION Mining Sanchit Sharma, SDO Sandeep Kumar were also present in the meeting.