VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has instructed officials to open all sand reaches in the State and aim at storing 70 lakh tonnes of sand before the monsoon becomes active. He said that sand can be booked at village secretariats from June 11. During the Spandana video-confernece held with district collectors and senior officials on Tuesday, the Chief Minister told them that all sand reaches should be opened and enough stock should be piled before the monsoon becomes active.
“There is a need to increase the mining of sand in Srikakulam, East and West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur and Nellore districts and at least 3 lakh tonnes should be extracted,’’ he said. The activity at sand reaches should be stepped up and sand mining should be expedited in Srikakuam, East and West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Nellore and Kadapa districts, where the number of reaches are more. New sources should also be identified and reaches should be set up, he said.
From June 11, people can book sand at Village Secretariats as well. The joint collector should take full responsibility and the collectors should supervise the transactions, he said. People with smaller needs can draw sand from any source within 5 km and the matter should be informed to the Village Secretariat concerned. Bulk orders should be dealt by the joint collector and the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) will come into force from June 10, he said and asked them to maintain transparency in all deals.
On liquor policy, the Chief Minister said the government took effective steps to bring down the consumption of alcohol. “We have closed down 43,000 belt shops and reduced the number of liquor shops by 33 per cent besides cutting down the number of working hours after taking over the liquor trade,” Jagan said and added that to supplement the government efforts, officials have to see to it that illicit liquor is not manufactured and there is no smuggling of liquor from other States. “We are very serious about these matters. Any illegal sale and transport of liquor and sand and will be dealt with firmly,” he added.
Book sand at secretariats from June 11
From June 11, people can book sand at Village Secretariats also
Joint Collector should take full responsibility and the Collectors should supervise the transactions
People, who needs small quantity, can draw sand from any source within 5 km and the matter should be informed to village secretariat
Bulk orders should be dealt by the joint collector and SOP will come into force from June 10