CM Jagan Reddy announces ‘Isuka Varotsavalu’ to meet demand for sand
VIJAYAWADA: Amid criticism by the opposition parties over the scarcity of sand, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday asserted that floods are coming in the way of sand mining as per demand and made it clear that his government’s aim is to weed out corruption in supply of the construction material.
“The system had become corrupt in the previous dispensation. Sand was looted right and left. We are repairing the system completely. We have already asked the Collectors and SPs to act tough on violations. Our government has given a green signal to act. I can proudly say that we have eliminated corruption in sand mining,” he said.
Stating that floods will recede in a week, Jagan announced the conduct of ‘Isuka Varotsavalu’ and during the week-long programme the entire administration will work exclusively on sand issue.
“Be prepared and after a week, we will make sure that sand is available as per demand and no one will dare to point a finger towards us,” Jagan told officials.
Reviewing mining and supply of sand with Collectors and SPs through a video conference from the Secretariat, Jagan said that it is fortunate to have good rains, which will benefit the farmers. “People throw stones only at fruit-bearing trees. Opposition TDP has resorted to false propaganda against us and there is a need to condemn all these false allegations,’’ he told the officials.
Directing the officials to ensure that sand is not transported to other States under any circumstances, Jagan wanted Director General of Police Gautam Sawang to personally monitor the situation so that strict vigil is kept on the bordering areas with Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Karnataka.
Rubbishing the claims of the opposition parties that construction workers are being deprived of work, he said earlier sand was transported by mafia, but his government now took up the task of mining and supplying sand.
“As we are operating sand supply manually without using heavy machinery, more work will be available and the issue of labourers being deprived of work will not arise,” the Chief Minister asserted.p6
Stating that every effort is being made to augment sand supply, he said around 70 reaches have been identified in streams and rivulets for extraction of sand.
Once the floods recede, those in need of sand can simply pay challan in Village Secretariat to lift sand through tractors up to a distance of 20 km. Those in need of work can also approach the Village Secretariats to get work in sand reaches. The Collectors should ensure that all those seeking work in sand reaches get work, the Chief Minister said.
The State government, which initially felt that supply of 1 lakh metric tonnes of sand a day would be enough to meet the demand, has decided to increase the supply to 1.5 lakh MT a day to meet the demand fully.
Speaking to TNIE, Secretary (Mines) K Ram Gopal said despite odds they are managing to supply 45,000 MT of sand a day.
“Initially, we estimated that there would be demand for 1 lakh MT of sand per day and decided to meet the demand accordingly once the floods recede. However, to meet the increase in demand for the construction material, we have decided to supply 1.5 lakh MT of sand a day for some time and reduce it to 1 lakh MT a day once normalcy is restored,” the Mines secretary explained.