Sand auction in Pune gets low response

The presence of sales tax and income tax officials during the auction for sand dredging sites in Pune resulted in a comparatively low response recently and 47 sites out of 130 dredging sites had no takers. The auction would be held again at the end of this month.

District mining officer, Sanjay Bamne, said the presence of senior officials resulted  in  contractors developing cold feet.

He said there were a number of reasons for the 47 sites having no takers. The income tax and sales tax officials issued notices to contractors for not having permanent account number (PAN) and Taxation Index Number (TIN). Hence, many did not come forward to participate in the auction.

After the high court lifted a ban on dredging on October 25, 2010, the auction was conducted for 130 sites in eight taluks in the district.

The auction was conducted for 3,78,324 brass of sand, which according to government rates was valued at Rs27.51 crore.

Additional district collector, RK Gaikwad, said the PAN and TIN were made compulsory for the contractors and that could be the reason for the presence of sales tax and income tax officials during the auction. Bamne said a total of 87 sites were auctioned, which has generated a revenue of Rs10.16 crore.