CHENNAI: With less than one-third of the sand quarries in the State operational now, Tamil Nadu is facing a crisis that has crippled its infrastructure projects.
Builders, developers and sand lorry owners whom Express spoke to claimed that about 30-40 per cent of construction activity had been hit by the crisis, as only 10 of the 38 sand quarries in the State are functional.
A senior Public Works Department official admitted that less than 15 quarries were operational now, and explained that the crisis was brought about by the lapse of many sand quarry leases.
“These licences have to be renewed. Besides, we require clearance from the State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) to start operating the newly identified quarries. We have not been able to get it so far as SEIAA does not have a chairman,” said the PWD source. However, the official refused to divulge information on how many new quarries have been identified.
According to Tamil Nadu Sand Lorry Owners Association president R Muniratham, Chennai used to get 10,000 truckloads of sand a day, which has now come down to around 2,000.
This shortage has jacked up sand prices from Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 per truckload, said industry sources.
T Chitty Babu, national chairman (Best Practices) of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (Credai) and chairman and managing director of Akshaya Homes, told Express that many government and private infrastructure projects had been hit by this steep rise in sand prices.
Stressing the need for a transparent approach to the tendering process to fix a reasonable price for sand, he also sought to fix the price of artificial sand that keeps fluctuating depending on the availability of natural sand.
Former president of Credai, Chennai chapter, Ajit Chordia said the rise in prices of sand had come at a time when the real estate market was slowly recovering.
If the crisis is not resolved soon, then other alternatives like duty-free import of sand from Cambodia should be considered by the State government.
There were times when the industry body had resorted to import of sand and cement when shortage led to unsustainable price hike.
Several projects will be delayed, as a result of which project expenditure could appreciate, he warned, seeking efforts to resolve the issue soon.
Former national president of the Builders’ Association of India R Radhakrishnan blamed it on the State government for failing to initiate immediate action to address the problem. He said that 30 to 40 per cent of constructions projects had already been affected by the crisis.