Mumbai, May 13 : The Maharashtra Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, on Tuesday, cleared the policy to make use of 'M-Sand' (artificial sand) mandatory in the construction sector. This has been done in order to curb the environmental problems arising from the over-extraction of natural sand and to provide alternative and sustainable resources to the construction sector.

Instead of the royalty charge of Rs 600 per brass for sand production, the meeting approved charging royalty at a discounted rate of Rs 200 per brass. The artificial sand, produced with the help of crushers from quarry waste and stones obtained from mountain excavations, can be an alternative to natural sand.

According to the policy, permission will be given to set up M-Sand units after obtaining permission from the district administration and forest department, and compliance with environmental regulations will be required, said the government release.

The government has instructed all government, semi-government and public institutions in the state to use M-sSand on priority in their construction projects.

In addition, it has been clarified that only quality M-Sand should be used as per the norms of the Bureau of Indian Standards (IS 383:2016). The Industries Department will provide concessions to 50 individuals/institutions in each district to set up M-Sand units. Also, a concession of Rs 200 per brass will be given to the unit producing M-Sand.

'The government believes that M-Sand units will increase employment opportunities at the local level, reduce dependence on natural sand and contribute to environmental protection. For this, district-level committees will be formed and an independent monitoring mechanism will be created to strictly implement the policy,' said the government release.

This decision is likely to bring about a major change in the construction sector and promote environmental protection, sustainable development and the local economy. The Cabinet has given its approval to provide incentives, including industrial incentive grants, interest subsidies, exemption from electricity charges, stamp duty waivers and subsidies on electricity rates for those investing in the setting up of M-Sand units.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet has accepted the Mukesh Khullar committee's report on salary discrepancies. The committee was formed to suggest recommendations for the removal of discrepancies in the salaries of government employees and officers. The committee had submitted its report to the state government on December 31, 2024, which was accepted by the Cabinet on Tuesday.

The recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission of the Centre were implemented for state government and other employees from January 1, 2016. But after the implementation of the revised pay scale, some errors were found in the pay fixation and the revised pay scale.

On this, teachers in the state had filed various petitions in the Mumbai, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Nagpur benches. As per the order of the High Court, the government had constituted a Pay Error Committee under the chairmanship of Mukesh Khullar through a government decision dated March 16, 2024. This committee discussed with various administrative departments and 58 organisations. The committee also considered the representations received by the committee and submitted to the Finance Department, said the government release.

The committee examined the proposals of various cadres and made recommendations regarding 441 cadres.

'It was found that while fixing the pay, despite the increase in the pay scale as per the government decision dated February 13, 2023, taken in accordance with Clause 2 of the Bakshi Committee, the new pay of some employees was less than the previous pay. The committee has recommended fixing the pay in that pay scale at the next stage. So that the pay in the new pay scale will not be lower than the previous one. In addition, the committee has recommended relaxing the condition of the pay scale for single posts higher than S-27 in the government decision dated March 28, 2023, to implement the selection grade pay scale,' said the government release.

The committee has also recommended giving a revised pay scale to those working in the same cadre but in different departments.

Further, the committee has recommended that if the pay scale of the promoted post in the promotion chain is reduced due to the revision of the pay scale, then that error should be rectified. The pay recommended by this committee will be sanctioned from 1 January 2016, and the actual financial benefits will be implemented from the month in which the government orders regarding this will be issued. However, no arrears will be paid from January 1, 2016, to the month in which the government order is issued.

/IANS