Govt. of A.P. has finalized its New Sand policy .As per this policy the rate of sand is fixed at Rs.325 per cubic meter. Sand policy has been formulated keeping in view the interests of the poor man. Speaking to newsmen, Ms. D.K. Aruna, Mining Minister disclosed that C.M. had constituted a seven-member committee and had instructed to formulate a policy, which could be acceptable to the poor. He clearly instructed the committee to keep the price as low as possible. She told that Govt. has imposed restriction on extracting sand from the rivers. Under this new policy, lorries carrying illicitly extracted sand would be seized. The fees collected from the mining of sand would be deposited in the general funds of concerned Zilla Parishads. Later these amounts would be transferred to Zilla Parishad ,Mandal Parishad & Panchayaths in the ratio of 25%, 50% and 25% respectively. Govt. is also encouraging “Rock Sand” also. This policy would be reviewed after a span of two years.
—Siasat News