The government is allowing crushers to temporarily register to clear their current stock.

The 11th Central Monitoring Committee meeting – chaired by chief secretary Leela Mani Paudyal – on sand and aggregates today decided to allow crushers to issue bills to clear their stocks, according to their demand.

The committee decided on nine-issues including temporary registration for stock clearance so ease the supply of construction material as even registered crushers had stopped production to create artificial shortage.

The crushers have been creating artificial shortage sending prices rocketing.

The shortage of construction material has hit construction work, both of private individuals and entities, and public infrastructure.

Industry Ministry will table the agenda in the next cabinet meeting.

The registration will be only temporary and valid until mid-January 2015 and would only be allowed for the purpose of stock clearance, informed under-secretary at Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development Ramesh KC.

The industries that have been opposed the government standards have asked the government to let them clear their stocks and issue bills, which cannot be done unless they were allowed to register and exist as a legal entity.

The crushers have also been asking the government to let them continue their industries as they have borrowed from the banks and financial institutions and employing thousands.

Most of the crushers operating around public and environment-related places like settlements, schools, forests and rivers, a majority of crusher companies had been de-registered on the first day of the current fiscal year.
Department of Mines and Geology has proposed 13 sites to allow the crushers.

The committee has also directed all 75 District Monitoring Committees to send an updated report on the stock that crusher companies in their area have within three days and also to ease the supply. Likewise, the department will complete an Initial Environmental Examination and award contracts to new stone quarries by mid-November.

The committee also has directed the committees to monitor market prices of sand and aggregates, and take measures to tackle any artificial shortage and black marketing.

Likewise, the committee also directed – according to the press note – all District Development Committees to allow excavation of stone quarries located in private lands smaller than 0.25-sq-km. But the permission will be effective till mid-January 2015.

The government had asked the crushers that donot meet the standard to shift their factories, according to the new guideline.

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