Cabinet Approves New Sand Mining Policy To Be Regulated By APMDC

Amaravati: The State Cabinet approved the new sand mining policy to curb sand mafia in the State Of Andhra Pradesh. As part of this AP Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC) will undertake sand mining and transport to prevent any irregularities. The State Cabinet even proposed a new mining policy to curb the sand mafia without damaging the environment. Speaking with the media, Minister of State for Information and Transport, Perni Nani said that further steps would be taken by AP Government to make sand available at affordable prices.

With the implementation of the new policy and the new schemes, sand rates will be reduced. As part of the new scheme, sand will be directly transported to the consumer without any mediator in a fair and transparent manner to prohibit sand mafia.

For this AP Government has set up 41 stock points in 13 districts for sand purchases. The government will increase these stock points from 70 to 80 by October and which will be gradually increased further.

In districts where there is a possibility of heavy sand consumption, the price of sand at the stock point is Rs. 375 for one ton plus transportation charges and the cost of transport is Rs.490 per ton. The cost of transporting through tractors up to 10 km is Rs.500.

The APMDC is responsible for seeking the permission of farmers if they are mining the sand in farmers' land.

APMDC will pay Rs.60 per cubic meter for farmers for sand mining, and it should also make sure that there is no burden to the farmers in the form of excavation, all of which are borne by APMDC.It has prepared 100 reaches so far for this purpose. APMDC has planned for de-siltation in 31 places and has identified over 82 places where they have to pay money for the farmers for sand mining.

GPS will be installed in every vehicle transporting sand, which will track the route of the vehicle until it reaches the consumer. Further, the State cabinet has issued strict instructions that sand should not be transported in unlicensed vehicles and sand transportation to other states is strictly prohibited.

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