Rajasthan gravel (bajari) lease auction to resume after two-month delay
The auction was initially stopped by the Bhajanlal government shortly after taking office.
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Mining. File photo.
JAIPUR: The Rajasthan government has announced that it will reopen the online bid process for issuing gravel mining leases in 22 blocks across the state. The auction was initially stopped by the Bhajanlal government shortly after taking office, but has now been approved to resume with the same conditions.
The state government expects to generate revenue of over Rs 300 crore from this auction, with leases ranging from 34 hectares to 100 hectares of land up for grabs. The common man can expect a profit of around Rs 15,000 per truck of 40 tonnes of gravel.
The blocks up for auction are located in Bhilwara, Rajsamand, Beawar, Tonk, Jalore, and Nagaur districts, with some blocks situated along the Luni river in addition to the Banas river.
The state government has set a condition that gravel cannot be sold at a rate more than four times the amount of royalty, which is currently Rs 40 to Rs 50 per tonne in different districts. This is expected to result in cheaper gravel prices for consumers.
The previous bid was issued by the Gehlot government on December 7 but was banned by the Bhajanlal government on December 16 due to a change in government.
The delay of two months has resulted in this rescheduling of the auction process. If strict monitoring is enforced by the state government, it is possible that gravel could be available at half its current price.
Currently, a truckload of gravel costs around Rs 48-50 thousand in Jaipur but could potentially drop down to Rs 33-36 thousand if monitoring is strict and royalties are capped at reasonable rates.
