Bhopal: Now, sand clusters disposal through e-tender cum-auction

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The cabinet gave approval to the amendments made in Madhya Pradesh sand (mining, transportation, storage and trading) rules, 2019 on Tuesday. The disposal of sand clusters of 44 districts will be done via group-wise contract by e-tender-cum-auction process instead of e-tender.

The contract period will be fixed for three years from the date of agreement (expandable for two additional years). The State Mining Corporation will seek valid permissions including mining planning and environment permission et al. A tripartite agreement will be signed between Mines Developer-cum- Operator (whoever is successful in the bidding process), collector and the corporation. The contract amount will be payable in the form of monthly installment instead of quarterly one and an annual increase of 10 per cent in the contract amount will be made on completion of a year of contract operation instead of July every year.

Notably, during Congress rule, a policy was made to auction sand mines in districts. Now the mines will be auctioned through clusters to be formed in tehsils. The policy also vouches that contractors should deposit an advance 50pc sum of the total cost as this will prevent contractors from fleeing midway. At present, there is a provision of depositing 25pc of the total cost. The policy also gives some reprieve to contractors as all necessary permissions will be taken by the mining corporation.

The cabinet also provided administrative approval of Rs 41,923 crore for the three-year budget and financial provision of Mukyamantri Ladli Behna Yojana. From June, Rs 1k will be deposited in the accounts of beneficiary women. Annually Rs 15k crore will be deposited in their accounts.

Priests can be able to use income from temple land

The cabinet ratified the departmental order issued on April 22 in connection with agricultural land of temples managed by the government. The income from over 10-acre agriculture land belonging to the temple could be used by priests. Priests could be able to use the income of land and the remaining will be auctioned for agriculture by informing the collector. The income from auction will be deposited into the temple account.

Govt to store chemical fertilisers in advance

To ensure availability of chemical fertilisers for 2023-24 and to save farmers from any kind of problem, the state government has decided to go for advance storage of chemical fertilisers from February 1 to May 31. A total of 10.80 lakh chemical fertilizers will be stored. For advance storage of chemical fertilisers which include urea, DAP, complex and potash, the state government has declared Madhya Pradesh State Cooperative Marketing Federation as the nodal agency.