The Punjab government is set to combat illegal mining by operationalising 200 new mining sites and allowing mining at 290 locations owned by crushers and private landowners across the state.

This initiative aims to strengthen the supply of minor minerals such as sand and gravel while ensuring legal extraction processes. The state is preparing the 200 government-identified sites for operations, while also enabling landowners to extract minor minerals, with the condition of paying royalty to the government.

A government official, mentioned that district survey reports are nearly complete, and mining on private land is expected to begin soon. He highlighted that once the sites are fully operational, the supply of legally mined minerals will surpass demand, reducing illegal mining activities. Additionally, 29 mining sites were auctioned last year.