From the Sand mine auction in Punjab it is very clear that this auction has been done in a very shoddy and shady manner. If the govt finds that it cannot get good bids through the laid down procedures and the general public good is not going to be served than the govt has every right to step in and actually it should look for alternatives if it has the good of Aam Aadmi in mind .
I t is not always good to outsource every activity of the government/ business and more so when sand it self is fast leading the pack of commodities joining atta,kerosene ,sugar and pulses to become another essential commodity. This commodity which is likely to be used by every person needs to be controlled at all stages i.e. its production,carriage and sale. This needs to be done in a manner that the new method makes this product available at reasonable rates to a common user. Hence the state govt which cries hoarse for its honest,good governance and fair approach needs to cancel this auction .
As per the auction rules there is no fixed price to sell sand therefore it will be demand and supply action and thus it will be not possible to control the prices of sand in the present system. The best method will be to declare it as an essential commodity as besides Punjab ,Haryana is also going to look for sand supplies from Punjab till some court decisions. Second stage is to take over the control of this essential commodity. Because as we all know their is money in this commodity and very little equipment and infrastructure required to develop sand mines. For this reason the State govt authorities cannot shy away from selling the commodity on its own saying that it does not have the money to run the show.
Therefore it is right of the state to step in and establish sale points , fix rate of sand, fix rates for delivery of sands for different types of transport means such as trailers,trucks etc per kilometer and save the common man from the present sand-police-
This can only be done if the Punjab Government is sincere and wants to prove its attentions of honesty in selling states' wealth at the right price as well as making it affordable for the states residents. By doing so the arm twisting price rise and loot of common man will be stopped and at the same time funds from sale of sand even at reasonable prices will out score the present shady auction bids. Money thus collected will enrich govt treasury so that it can be used for state's development which is supposed to be the main plank of the present Akali BJP government.
Dear Reader
ReplyDeleteThis article of mine was published in the leading english newspaper of Northern India THE TRIBUNE
The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Letters to the Editor
Please follow link to read
www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130222/letters.htm
Sand as an essential commodity!
ReplyDeleteThe auction for sand quarrying in Punjab has been done in a very shoddy and shady manner. The government should look for alternatives, if it has the good of the aam aadmi in mind.
It is not always good to outsource government activity and more so when the natural resource like sand is fast becoming another essential commodity like dal, atta, rice, grocery, etc. This natural commodity which is to be used by every person needs to be controlled at all stages i.e. production, carriage and sale. This needs to be done in a manner that the new method makes this product available at a reasonable rate to a common user. The state which cries hoarse for its honest, good governance and fair approach should cancel the auction.
As rightly brought out in the editorial ‘People are the quarry’ (February 16), it will not be possible to control the prices of sand in the present system. The best method will be to declare it as an essential commodity. Haryana is also going to look for sand supplies from Punjab till some court decisions. Second stage is to take over the control of this essential commodity. State government authorities cannot shy away from selling the commodity on its own.
The state government must step in and establish sale points, fix the rate, deliver it through different means of transport such as trailers, trucks, etc per kilometer and save the common man from the present sand-police-bureaucratic-politician mafia. By doing so, the loot of the common man will be stopped and at the same time, money from sale of sand will fill government coffers.
Lt-Col JASJIT SINGH GILL (retd), Ludhiana