Andhra to introduce new legislation to regulate sand mining, transportation

Andhra Pradesh government is set to introduce new legislation to regulate mining, transportation and price of sand.

At a meeting held on the sand shortage here, Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy told officials that his government will bring a new law under which stringent measures for violators will be introduced.

"An Ordinance will be brought out immediately which will be converted into law during the ensuing assembly session", an official release quoted Reddy as saying.

The Chief Minister said that the Ordinance will specify the land fixation giving the powers to district collectors and concerned officials at constituency and district levels.

The sand distribution should be drastically increased, he said.

"A toll-free number should be set up where any complaints on irregularities in the sale of sand should be immediately attended to. Vigilance wing should be strengthened to check smuggling and CC cameras should be set up at all the reaches," Reddy said.

Officials informed the Chief Minister that 83 of the 275 sand reaches were active. They said the supply was increased from 41,000 tonnes to 69,000 tonnes per day as the number of reaches was increased from 61 to 83. "If the weather improves, between 15 and 30 days, we can supply two to three lakh tonnes per day," an official said.

The Chief Minister also slammed the Opposition for politicising the issue of sand shortage in the state.

Opposition parties have alleged that there was a slowdown in the real state sector due to sand scarcity in the state. The government has maintained that it is taking every step to tackle the problem.