‘Raise supply of sand to 1 lakh tonnes’

Ramachandra Reddy also suggests decasting of sand from pattadar lands

Minister for Panchayat Raj and Mines and Geology Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy has ordered that the daily supply of sand should be increased from the present 35,000 tonnes to 1,00,000 tonnes and attention paid to decasting sand from pattadar lands as an alternative till the crisis eased and the applications (for decasting) from land owners be cleared.

This would provide some relief to customers whose wait for sand continued mainly due to the flooding of sand in the open reaches in various districts.

Addressing a review meeting at the Secretariat on Saturday, Mr. Ramachandra Reddy said while the responsibility of monitoring sand quarrying and its supply was vested with the Joint Collectors, officers of all departments concerned should work together for solving the problem.

Tapping into reservoirs

He suggested that the feasibility of quarrying of sand which piled up in reservoirs and other water bodies could be explored subject to the existing regulations.

By taking sand out of the reservoirs, their storage capacity could be increased and customers would get sand before the crisis ended.

The Minister instructed the officers that the dispatch of sand from reaches in respect of online bookings should be improved by deploying employees of the village secretariats there and priority be given to local customers in districts where sand was available. For those who booked sand online, some quantities could be reserved.

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