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AP Ministers warn of tough action
The government warned the sand mafia of stringent action if it indulges in illegal sand mining and transportation activities. The Group of Ministers (GoM) comprising deputy chief minister and home minister N Chinarajappa, deputy chief minister and revenue minister KE Krishnamurthy and mining minister V Sujay Krishna Ranga Rao held a review meeting with senior officials at the Secretariat in Vela
Illegal sand mining in AP
Amaravati: The government warned the sand mafia of stringent action if it indulges in illegal sand mining and transportation activities. The Group of Ministers (GoM) comprising deputy chief minister and home minister N Chinarajappa, deputy chief minister and revenue minister KE Krishnamurthy and mining minister V Sujay Krishna Ranga Rao held a review meeting with senior officials at the Secretariat in Velagapudi on Friday on strict implementation of sand policy.
Speaking to the media, Sujay Krishna Ranga Rao said the meeting had decided to ensure free supply of sand to all the sections of people as sand is one of the prime resources for all the construction activities in the capital region.
The meeting discussed the responsibilities of each department for the implementation of sand policy where the mining department will identify the sand reaches and handover it to revenue department and the home department has to keep a hatch on the reaches for preventing illegal sand mining, he said.
The minister said the government had directed the police department to take stringent action against who those indulge in illegal sand mining. The meeting decided to give permission for sand mining in private patta lands to overcome the shortage, he said. The government would give wide publicity on toll-free number introduced for making complaints on illegal sand mining and its transportation, the minister said.
Ranga Rao revealed that the meeting had decided to request Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to give concession for manufacturing robust sand by private entrepreneurs wherever there is sand shortage.
Following several complaints filed in the National Green Tribunal over sand mining, he said that if dredging is not conducted, there is every possibility of silt being piled up in the rivers, which will obstruct the free flow of water.
He said the mining ministers’ national conference which is scheduled to be held in New Delhi on May 3 and 4 will discuss the objections being raised by the NGT on non-utilisation of heavy machinery for sand mining and other issues.
“We will bring amendments in the Acts if necessary, for using machinery in sand mining,” he said and added that the meeting had decided to form committees at state, district and mandal levels for the smooth implementation of sand policy.
