Minister for Mines and Geology Galla Aruna Kumari stated that the State Government has fixed Rs 325 as the price per cubic metre of sand under the new policy.
Announcing the new sand mining policy at the State Secretariat on Sunday, Aruna Kumari said that the government has taken a decision to supply sand at free of cost for houses to be constructed under the Indiramma Scheme. Stating that the government has imposed an intra-State ban on transport of sand to prevent its scarcity, she said that usage of porcelains has also been banned at river basins to check environmental damage.
The minister said that 100 percent of royalty collected from sand mining would be deposited in the Zilla Panchayat accounts. She said that the sand reaches in villages would be allotted through gram panchayats to the societies for mining and ZP would decide on fixing the rate of sand. She said that the sand mined at reservoirs would be utilised only for the construction of government buildings.
Aruna Kumar also warned that the lorries carrying sand would be seized if the contractors resort to illegal transportation of sand.
–Agencies