VIJAYAWADA: In what could be a crackdown against illegal sand mining in rural areas in the district, sleuths of Vigilance and Enforcement (V&E) directorate raided an illegal excavation site at Velagaleru village of G Konduru mandal on Friday evening.Acting on a tip-off that some persons are transporting sand illegally, a team of regional V&E department officials visited the spot and found workers mining and transporting sand illegally from a four-acre land.
They seized the vehicles and handed over the sand to concerned revenue officials for safe custody until the disposal of the case. The main accused behind the excavation was identified as Kolopoti Venkata Raidu.
According to DSP Vijaya Paul, Raidu learnt about the arrival of the department officials and immediately stopped the works at the site and sent the machinery and workers away.
“In our examination, we have identified that Raidu has been illegally selling sand and gravel without obtaining permission from the concerned revenue and Mines & Geology department for the past six months,” said the DSP. V&E officials filed an inquest to the Mines & Geology department to impose hefty penalties on Raidu.
“A penalty of approximately `5 lakh will be collected from the accused along with `1.66 crore for the gravel that has been excavated,” he added. Revenue officials too reached the spot and took cognizance of the issue. This is the second incident of that has been reported in a week in the district.