Himachal Government to Develop Robust Mechanism to Curb Misuse of Mineral Transit Passes

Shimla, April 24 – The Himachal Pradesh government is set to develop a robust mechanism to curb corruption related to the misuse of transit passes in mineral transportation. The move aims to prevent revenue losses from royalty evasion and ensure the timely completion of development projects.

Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu issued these directions while chairing a meeting of the Industries Department in Shimla today. Expressing concern over the use of fake transit passes in the transportation of minerals, the Chief Minister noted that the state has been incurring significant royalty losses due to such malpractices.

To address this, the state had earlier implemented Rule 81A, under which, in the absence of a valid transit pass, panchayats and development agencies were required to pay a royalty of ₹80 per tonne and an additional ₹20 as penalty. However, the implementation of this rule has been stayed by the High Court, with a hearing scheduled for April 25.

The Chief Minister instructed the Industries Department to explore all possible measures and alternative arrangements to resolve the issue, ensuring that development works are not hindered and are completed within stipulated timelines.

Industries Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan, Additional Chief Secretary K.K. Pant, Advocate General of Himachal Pradesh Anup Rattan, Law Secretary Sharad Kumar Lagwal, Director of Industries Dr. Yunus, the Chief Minister’s OSD Gopal Sharma, and other senior officials were present at the meeting.