The Punjab Industries Department’s claim that it was set to rake in Rs 234 crore through the auction of 22 sand quarries across the state has turned out to be a pipedream. Having basked in the glory of raking in huge revenues for the state by auctioning its sand quarries with all environmental clearances, the department was in for a shock when just two successful bidders came forward to deposit the bid amount. The state thus received just Rs 11 crore.

Sources in the Industries Department informed The Tribune that they had received 50 per cent of the bid amount from just two successful bidders. While Rs 9 crore has been received from the highest bidder for Parchian Biharipur quarry in Ludhiana, Rs 2 crore has been received from the bidder for Gag Digara quarry in Jalandhar.