The Government of Chhattisgarh, through the Department of Mineral Resources, on June 8, 2026, amended the Chhattisgarh Minor Mineral Ordinary Sand (Quarrying and Trade) Rules, 2025 to strengthen lease administration, enforcement mechanisms, and sand resource management. The amendments permit submission of a Fixed Deposit Receipt (FDR) as an alternative to a bank guarantee and extend certain compliance timelines from 60 days to one year, providing greater operational flexibility to lessees.
A significant amendment empowers the State Government to reserve identified sand quarries for Central or State Government Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) for purposes such as environmental protection, conservation, mineral resource development, stock assessment, and excavation activities. The notification also introduces stricter compliance provisions by authorizing the Collector to confiscate performance security, wholly or partly, for violations of lease conditions or rule provisions. Further, a detailed show-cause and penalty framework has been introduced under Rule 11, enabling cancellation of leases for specified violations if breaches are not remedied within the prescribed period.
The amendments additionally introduce a new provision on lapse of mining leases, under which a lease may be declared lapsed if mining operations do not commence within one year of lease execution or remain discontinued for a continuous period of twelve months after commencement. The changes are aimed at ensuring effective utilization of sand resources, strengthening regulatory oversight, improving environmental governance, and preventing non-operational leases from blocking mineral resource development.
[File No. RULE-801/6/2026-MRD]
