THOOTHUKUDI: With the norms still denying sale of imported sand by private parties in Tamil Nadu, the consignment that arrived at Thoothukudi VOC port from Malaysia moved to the New Mangalore port on Friday. The ship MV Groton Eagle, loaded with 58,616 tonnes of river sand from Malaysia, reached the outer harbour of VOC Port in Thoothukudi on Wednesday (January 3, 2018). Asian Shipping Agencies had imported the sand loads through the stevedore agent Delta Infralogistics (worldwide), said sources.
It was pertinent to note that 55,445 tones of river sand imported by a MAM Enterprises was already restricted within the port premises despite the Centre giving clearance and the GST being paid, following legal battles countered down by the State government authorities. The State mines and geology department denied a transit pass to the move the imported sand out the port.
Based on the court direction on enacting rules and regulations for distributing imported sand, the Tamil Nadu government, on Friday, issued a GO with the rules. Accordingly, the Public Works Department (PWD) was made the nodal agency to distribute imported sand or sand bought from outside Tamil Nadu. The price had been hiked to `135 per cubic feet of sand as against the previous `35 per cubic feet. Also, the sand should meet the benchmark fixed by the PWD, citing that unregulated sand could lead to invasion of exotic flora and fauna. The imported sand can be sold only to the PWD authorities to keep private dealers from entering into the sand distribution market.
It was this new regulation that had prevented the 58,616 tonnes of Malaysian river sand brought by MV Groton Eagle from unloading at the Thoothukudi VOC port. Sources from the port said that the ship had set sail to New Mangalore port in Karnataka, which had a good market for imported river sand, at around 11 pm on Friday. Officials refused to comment on the issues shrouding the imported river sand.
Speaking to Express on the recent developments with the sand import, T Henry Daniel, Charter President of Thoothukudi Civil Engineers’ Association said that it was unfair to stop sand imports. On the PWD parameters for sand quality, he said that sand collected from different rivers would differ in quality. Texture of sand collected from the Thamirabarani at Seevelaperi would differ from that taken at Srivaikuntam, he added.
Contending the State government, Henry opined that it had not interfered with the imports of cement, timber, cotton yarn and other materials. If they did, then the government boards and department would be selling everything. However, it was with sand import that the legal problems had come up, he noted.
He recalled that the civil industry was crippled already due to non-availability of the river sand. However, it had a mandate to protect the rivers in Tamil Nadu, he said.