As a part of its new sand policy, the state government has decided to ban the inter-state sand transportation to address illegal transportation problem and introduce a lottery system in place of tenders for sand mining leases.
The rules and regulations of the new policy will be framed within a weeks time and an announcement will be made as to when the policy would come into force.
Disclosing the salient features of the new sand policy to mediapersons at the secretariat here on Sunday, minister for mines Galla Aruna Kumari said the cabinet sub-committee had contemplated various measures to ensure that sand was available to the poor by reducing its price to the maximum extent possible.
“We have deliberated on sand policies adopted in different states and were impressed by the one in Punjab, where sand is treated like an essential commodity. Discussions are still ongoing on the possibility of making sand an essential commodity in the state, as directed by the chief minister,” she explained.
She said that cabinet sub-committee had decided to do away with the existing tender-cum-public auction system and introduce a lottery system in its place for allocating sand mining leases. She said it was also decided to fix the SSR rate to Rs 325 per cubic metres at pit heads in sand reaches. The district authorities have to fix the selling price to not more than 20 percent of it.
Further, it was decided not to allow more than the decided quantity in the approved mining plans for quarrying in sand bearing areas. To ensure this, the usage of earth moving machinery for quarrying and transportation in the river course and the thickness cited in the rules and regulations of Andhra Pradesh Water Land and Trees Act Act will be restricted.
Aruna said as per the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas Act (PESA), sand reaches in tribal areas will be allocated to the local societies through Gram Sabhas with help of Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC) and Integrated Tribal Development Agencies (ITDA).
For the boatmen societies and individuals who registered for sand quarrying in water filled areas, permissions will be granted in a lottery-based system henceforth, she added.
She explained that sand acquired through desilting of reservoirs by the irrigation department will be utilised for government works. Sand accumulated on the patta lands can be removed by the farmers (pattadars) on payment of seigniorage fees. However, there will be no such fee on the quarrying and transportation of sand (till third order) in bullock carts and tractors from the rivers, streams and tanks in the mandal levels for the local works and Indiramma houses.
“Those violating the ban will be dealt with strictly and their machinery, vehicles will be confiscated and their sand will be seized. The entire revenue from the seigniorage fee collected will be deposited with the zilla parishad’s general funds head of account, from which 25 percent will be allocated to zilla parishad, 50 percent to mandal parishad and 25 percent to panchayats,” Aruna explained.
She added that the government was contemplating promoting rock sand as an alternative to naturally available sand.
The sand reaches for which leases were allocated but works were yet to commence will be brought under the ambit of the new sand policy. Bidders of those reaches, where quarrying is being done and who agreed to the new policy, have to sell the sand at the new rate. Those who do not agree, will be paid the refund proportionate to the remaining quantity. Citing the Supreme Court’s decision in Deepak Kumar vs Haryana government case, the minister said leases for the sand reaches less than five acres will also have to obtain environmental permissions.
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