VIJAYAWADA: To effectively implement the Sand Mining Policy-2019, the State government on Wednesday appointed Joint Collector-I of all the districts as ex-officio executive directors of the AP Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC), which is implementing the policy.
The Joint Collectors will be paid Rs 8,000 as honorarium per month for effective implementation of the sand policy.
It may be recalled that the YSRC government came up with a new sand mining policy for sustainable mining, compliance with environmental regulations, ensuring affordable prices of sand and raising revenue.
The APMDC was entrusted with the task of operating sand reaches, de-casting of Patta lands and desilting of reservoirs in the State to meet the demand of sand.
The APMDC has requested the government to sanction additional manpower for operation of sand reaches and stockyards.
On Wednesday, the Industries, Infrastructure, Investment and Commerce department issued a GO appointing Joint Collector–I in all the districts as Ex-Officio Executive Director, APMDC, to focus on sand mining and logistics in their respective districts.
“The expenditure for payment of honorarium will be borne by the APMDC,’’ the GO said. Meanwhile, the government said it would sanction additional manpower to the APMDC.
In a related development, the State government appointed 2015-batch IAS officer Sumit Kumar as Full Additional Charge of Special Secretary, Industries, Infrastructure, Investments and Commerce Department and he will look after the sand policy implementation.