Chandigarh, Aug. 13 -- Punjab government's plan to desilt and remove excess material from Beas and Ravi riverbeds across four districts, aimed at improving flood management and restoring eroded land, has hit a roadblock, with the Centre questioning whether the excavated material could be commercially exploited.

The Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) has specifically asked the government to ensure that the proposed works do not turn into commercial extraction or utilisation of "minor minerals" (naturally occurring material used mostly for construction) without prior clearance under the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006.

The intervention comes a month after Punjab's standing committee ...