Dehradun: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Thursday said a separate policy will be framed in the state to ensure that mining is done along riverbeds in a legally sanctioned manner so that the rivers and population living close to them are protected and the sector becomes an effective tool for revenue generation.
"We have decided to frame a separate policy which allows mining in a legal manner in areas available in rivers for the purpose, protects our rivers as well as the population living close to them and helps it (mining) become an effective tool for revenue generation," Rawat told reporters here.
The mining department is busy preparing a policy along ?these lines so that these purposes are served, he said.
Asked about steps taken by his government to stop illegal mining, he said the state government wants utilisation of the state's resources in an effective and transparent manner but efforts made by it to stop illegal mining are yet to percolate to the lower level.
