ADILABAD: Singreni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) is planning to set up two soil filtration plants, with an estimated cost of `20 crore, at Bellampalli and Srirampur towns, in order to manufacture artificial sand for the organisation.
Sand is of vital importance to SCCL, as according to environmental norms, abandoned mines should be completely filled up with sand before they are sealed. Though a decision for this project was reportedly taken two years ago, it was not materialised so far. SCCL officials said they are now seriously considering an sand-manufacturing unit for themselves.
Earlier, SCCL was purchasing sand from the mines near Godavari and others which was proving to be costly on their budget.
However, the SCCL officials opine that having their own sand-manufacturing plant will not only reduce the costs but also decrease the number of irregularities in the supply of sand. Sources said, some sand contractors, along with the officials, are committing fraud by diverting large quantities of sand, being transported to the mines, for a ‘backdoor’ sale.
SCCL officials said that production of artificial sand is already being successfully implemented in Karimnagar and Warangal districts. Officials said, the management is also yet to take a decision on hiring outsourcing employees to run the two soil filtration units after their launch.
It is said that while the Bhupalpally plant in Warangal is producing around 250 cubic meters of sand per hour, the capacity of the proposed plants in Adilabad may be 300 cubic meters of sand per hour.
An official of the SCCL said, “Though the decision for setting up of the plants was taken long back, it was shelved due to lack of support from the then government of the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh.”