Large reserves of potash found in three blocks of South West Punjab – Barinder Kumar Goyal
Large reserves of potash found in three blocks of South West Punjab – Barinder Kumar Goya
-, The country will get relief from the import of potash , Punjab will fulfill the needs of the country
– The state will get royalty , but the lands will not be acquired.
Fazilka 6th February
Punjab Cabinet Minister for Mining and Water Resources Barinder Kumar Goyal has said that the continuous explorations by the Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to make Punjab the leading state of the country in the field of mining have borne fruit and large reserves of potash have been found in three mining blocks in the state and the south-western part.
Addressing a press conference here today, Cabinet Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal said that potash is not mined anywhere else in the country and Punjab is the first state where this mineral has been found. Earlier, the country imported 50 lakh tonnes of potash annually which is used as fertilizer in the fields and in other industries. But now three mining blocks of Sri Muktsar Sahib and Fazilka districts have been found where large reserves of potash have been found underground. He said that Kabarwala coal in Sri Muktsar Sahib and Sherewala and Ramsar and Shergarh and Dalmir Khera blocks have been found in Fazilka district.
On this occasion, he clarified the doubts arising among the people regarding this subject that land will not be acquired for the extraction of potash and there will be no loss of land, rather this mineral will be extracted with a drill system and it will not have any impact on the land ownership of the farmers. He said that this will set up an industry related to the processing of potash, which will create new employment opportunities in the area and there will be all-round development of the area. He said that the potash mineral is at a depth of 450 meters underground and before extracting it, the government is also conducting a complete study of its social and environmental impacts. He said that the government is also continuing exploration in the areas near these three blocks.
Responding to the questions of the journalists, Mr. Barinder Kumar Goyal said that this project will fulfill the promise made by Mr. Arvind Kejriwal to make Punjab economically self-reliant through mining. He also said that the central government has the right to conduct auction in this regard but the royalty received from it will go to the Punjab government only. He said that the Punjab government has given its consent to mining from the Kabbarwala block in this regard and as soon as the auction is held by the central government in this regard, this extraction will be able to start.
He said that the Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann assures the farmers that no land of the farmers will be acquired in this project.
In response to another question, the Cabinet Minister said that the total area of these three blocks is about 18 square kilometers but exploration is also being done in its nearby areas. In response to another question, the Cabinet Minister said that last year the state earned an income of Rs 288 crore from sand and gravel mining and in the coming days, 104 more mines will be started in the state. He also said that 27 places have been identified for extracting sand from rivers.
On this occasion, MLA Narinder Pal Singh Sawna of Fazilka constituency , MLA Amandeep Singh Goldy Musafir of Balluana , MLA Jagdeep Goldy Kamboj of Jalalabad , Director Mining Abhijit Kaplish , Director of Geological Survey of India Mr. Soim Ranjan Maha Patra , Deputy Commissioner Amarpreet Kaur Sandhu , SSP Varinder Singh Brar , Superintending Engineer Rajan Dhingra , Executive Engineer Jagsir Singh were also present.
Earlier, the Cabinet Minister visited the villages of Sherewala and Shergarh and inspected the places where potash has been found underground.