In a move to curb illegal mining, the Himachal Pradesh government has banned transportation of construction material like sand and gravel from river beds to other states.
The license for mining will be given only to locals for extracting sand and stone for meeting the requirement of domestic construction industry, an official spokesman said.
The government has also issued special instructions to check illegal extraction of sand on river beds at inter-state borders where smuggling of construction material is rampant, he said.
Tractors and trolleys will not be allowed to extract sand from 8 pm to 6 am and action will be taken against heavy vehicles flouting the orders, the spokesman said.
Apart from causing loss to the state, the illegal de-silting of sand from river beds is also resulting in change of course of rivers damaging fertile land, the spokesman said.
