The Prime Minister Lyonchhen (Dr) Lotay Tshering during the meet the press clarified that the cabinet had temporarily frozen the issuance of new permits for surface collection and dredging but it had not stopped the current operators.
He said that the stones and aggregates will continue to be exported to Bangladesh.
Lyonchhen said that the government is looking at resolving the issues between the Mining and Forest Acts which give surface collection and dredging ownership to both the Mining and Forest departments leading to misunderstanding.
The PM said that the other issue is of ensuring that the Royalty rates are uniform and up to date.
He said that the permit freeze would be lifted and the surface collection and dredging would be permitted with more revenue for the government.