VIJAYAWADA: The State is likely to witness sand shortage during the monsoon season. The reason: the State has only around 30 lakh metric tonnes of sand in storage points to meet the monsoon demand and the efforts to increase production are not yielding the desired results.
The sand excavation has not resumed yet in half of the reaches in the State after the new sand policy comes into force, which may lead to shortage of the construction material. However, officials are confident that the reserves will reach 60 lakh metric tonnes by the end of June and that they will be able to supply the required quantity of sand.
Following the transfer of all sand operations including excavation, sales and supply to a private agency, Jaiprakash Power Ventures Limited (JPVL), last month, the AP Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC) handed over reaches and sand reserves to the company.
However, sources said, the agency is yet to take up mining activities in more than half of the 300-plus reaches it got from the APMDC due to some practical difficulties. By the second week of June, the State has only 30 lakh metric tonnes of sand to meet the monsoon demand.
Recalling that the APMDC had reserved more than 50 lakh metric tonnes of sand ahead of the last monsoon, sources said the construction activity may be hampered if the sand reserve is not increased before the rivers catch floods.
In fact, during a review meeting with the officials of the mining department recently, Minister for Mines and Geology Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy also underscored the need for increasing the sand stock.However, officials of the Mines department say there will be no scarcity during the monsoon as the reserves are expected to be doubled by the end of June as the agency ramped up production though it is yet to start mining in 50 per cent of the reaches.
Informing that 30 lakh MT was already stored, Principal Secretary (Mines) Gopal Krishna Dwivedi said that the monsoon reserves will be doubled (60 lakh metric tonnes) by the end of June. "Despite commencing operations only in 50 per cent of the reaches, we will have no issues as long as the agency is able to supply sand. We only intervene in case of violation of price fixed and supplying sand to other states," he said.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Dwivedi said that the average production of sand at present stood at 3 lakh tonnes a day as against the demand of one lakh tonnes. Thus, two lakh tonnes of sand can be stored a day to meet the off-season demand.
He said that there are possibilities of excavating more or less 30,000 tonnes of sand a day through boatman societies during the monsoon also.
When asked about the huge demand for sand as the government is taking up the housing scheme on a big scale, the official said that the required quantity of sand will be provided. "Apart from monsoon reserves, we can also excavate more than 50 lakh metric tonnes of sand by taking up dredging in Prakasam barrage," he argued.